YuGiOh!:Rise of the Machine Empire
by Count-Hagane
Summary: This story mainly concerns another set of Millennium Items that were thought to be lost for eternity...when a teenager finds the king piece to this set, he finds an friend he can't duel without and a destiny he was meant to play out (REVIEW PLEASE).
1. Prolouge

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History is one of our greatest mentors it tells us what we are in the present…and what will be in the future, I will tell you such a story for I have asked numerous questions of these people, chronicling it here in this book…perhaps now I'll have the answers I seek.

Our story begins 5,000 years ago in Eygpt…with the rivalry of The Pharaoh Yami of Eygpt, and Count Hagane of The Machine Empire. Though both sides never raised a blade at each other it was not simple to say this but, a war broke out between both sides…but the Pharaoh had the power of a rare item known as the Millenium Puzzle…but this power was matched by Count Hagane who possessed an item known as the Millenium Bracelet. Eventually when all was said and done both the Pharaoh and the Count had destroyed themselves, but The Millenium Puzzle along with the other six items remained out of the knowledge of our time…but as for the Millenium Bracelet, it went from wearer to wearer casting upon them a curse that was strictly placed on it by the Count himself, on the back of the bracelet it read:

"It is not for thee…it is for me to wield alone."

Eventually in time the bracelet became lost and faded out of history…but this is not the end of our story, it is but the beginning!


	2. Chapter 1: Battle for Championship Statu...

Chapter 1: Battle for Championship Status  
  
Now this chapter takes place during the Intercontinental Championship…Kaiba was just sitting in a lounge with his little brother when on the T.V. over the bar the news came on saying, "He's done it again folks, he has done it again, once again duelist Misha has defeated another opponent and cleared to Semi-Finals by a slim 300 Life Points!"

Just then a boy with brown curly hair, green eyes and glasses comes on and says: "You vink vat vuz easy, if vis is all they Semi-Finals had to offer I'd hate to see the sucker waiting for me in the arena tomorrow."

Soon the reporter said, "Yes, but your next opponent is Seto Kaiba and word has it he's as good as you are if not then better.do you have a strategy for that?!" Misha smirks and says, "Trust me…no one is better van Misha, and the reason why is this!" he quickly pulls out a card and shows it to the camera.

The reporter sees it and asks, "Is that the rare-?" Misha nods and says, "Yes, it is one of the rare Blue Eyes White Dragon cards.tomorrow I'll use this on Seto myself." Just then the door opens and who should enter but Misha himself…everyone in the diner (excluding the Kaiba brothers) ran up to meet him, Misha fought through the crowd to the bar and ordered a glass of wine.

Misha scanned the room and saw Seto, Misha walked over to him and said, "Seto Kaiba…what a pleasure to finally meet you face to face, I just want you to know that come tomorrow I vill show you little mercy." Kaiba just got up and left, but not before saying: "Oh trust me Misha, come tomorrow you'll be the one in way over your head." Misha just gave a sharp laugh and said, "You have little chance of beating me Kaiba…but don't threat, I may let you touch the Champion Title…so you can feel the chance you lost."  
  
The day of the finals the arena was filled to capacity in only 30 minutes, most of them chanting: "MI-SHA, MI-SHA, MI-SHA!" Suddenly both opponents entered the arena, Misha blew kisses to most of his fans and did a back flip onto his platform just for show.

Well to speed the story along both of them were doing extremely well, eventually in 7 turns Kaiba only had 550 Life Points left, and Misha had 700. Misha looked at Kaiba and said, "I have to give you credit…not many have lasted this long against me…you're one in a million vat is for sure." Kaiba looked at Misha and said, "Misha, how about we make this duel more interesting? We both put our rarest card up for grabs, if you win you get mine." Misha looked at Kaiba and said, "I am one who never backs down form a challunge…I vill accept your little vager."  
  
Well in the end I'd have to say that Misha lost, he didn't know Kaiba possessed two Blue-Eyes. And now, thanks to his foolish gamble Kaiba had three. After the finals Misha disappeared from the media radar.


	3. Chapter 2: A Letter and a Gift

Chapter 2: A Letter and a Gift  
  
Two months after the I.C Tournament Misha was devastated.he just stayed in his room staring out the window, or doing his homework then go back to staring out the window, or have a glass of wine while staring out the window.he was completely devastated, Greg (Misha's little brother) fearing for his brother's sanity asked Eric, Troy, and Brandon S. (three friends of Misha) to come over and snap him out of it.  
  
They all entered his room, Misha glanced at them and said, "What the hell do you guys want?"

Troy was the first to answer, he said: "We heard what happened at the finals Misha, you have to snap out of it…where is the old Misha we knew?" Misha sighed and replied, "vat Misha died the moment he lost to Seto Kaiba, if you're trying to cheer me up…you guys are two months too late."

Eric was the next to speak, he said: "Do you think that you got there all the way on your own!? The hell you did, we helped you prepare for that tournament…we helped modify your deck so it'd be likely you would last that long, so okay you lost……big deal, you still have your Barrel Dragon, not to mention your two Cyber Falcons…and your Change of Heart card."

Misha turned around to face them and snapped, "But I didn't just lose any damn card…we're talking about the fucking Blue Eyes White Dragon, one of the most rarest cards in all of Duel Monsters. Sorry but I'm to have to demand that you all leave my living quarters vis very instant!" Greg spoke up, "But Misha-?" Misha glared at Greg and shouted, "LEAVE NOW BEFORE I BREAK YOUR ARM OFF AND BEAT YOU WITH IT!!!" Greg and the other quickly exited the room, later a knock came at the door, Greg answered it…it was Brandon W., he looked at Greg and asked, "Is Misha home?" at that moment Misha came down the stairs and said, "You vanted to see me for something." Brandon W. continued, "Zach Hartzheim is challenging you to a duel at Chimera's Hobby Shop."

Misha replied, "You wasted your time coming here." Just then Greg looked at them and said, "Tell Zach I'll accept his challenge, I will duel for my brother." At that moment Misha whirled around and said, "YOU WHAT!?" Greg looked up at his brother and said, "If you're not going to duel Zach…then I WILL, I'm not afraid to lose to another person…but look at you, you're even afraid to face Zach, and you've been able to beat him thrice before." Greg looked at Brandon W. and said, "allow me to get my deck and let's go." When Greg had gone Misha looked at his cards and asked himself; "_Where did I go wrong? I know there was a way I could've won or tied with him…wait that's it, my Trap Hole card…I didn't take that into option, it was face down on the field! Grrr…I'm such an idiot, well I'm not going to let that happen twice_."

Misha grabbed his deck and his car keys and said, "Don't vurry brother, Misha's back and coming."  
  
Meanwhile Greg wasn't having so much luck beating Zach; sure he was able to knock Zach down to 1550 before Zach went master on him. Zach laughed to him and said, "Did you think it was worth it coming all this way just to lose to me, you're about as weak as your brother…good thing he gave up on himself, because with him not in the loop anymore, this is MY HOUSE NOW!"

Greg looked down at the floor and was on the verge of crying, suddenly they heard: "Oh really Zach, Vhy don't you put your deck where your mouth is?" Greg looked up and saw Misha, standing tall at the doorway, Zach tapped his fingers on the table and said, "Look Brandon…It's the fallen angel Misha, why don't you got back to your room to sulk?" Brandon snickered at the comment, Misha just stared at the floor and gave a soft smile saying, "Vat Misha was SO version 1.0!" and with that Misha sat down and the original match began.

Well to shorten the story Zach lost to Misha about 3 times before running out of the store yelling, "YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE LAST OF ME MISHA!" Misha looked up at Brandon W., Brandon said, "Um, I got to go too?" and darted after Zach. Greg hugged his brother saying, "Oh thank the heavens Misha, you're back!" Misha nodded saying, "And it's all thanks to you, you helped me see vhat a blind fool I vas…now let's go home, Mom's probably wondering where we vent?"  
  
Back home, their mother was actually happy to see her eldest son get out of his room. She said while he was gone a couple things had come in the mail for him. One was a letter from Industrial Illusions…the other was a package from Aunt Barb. Misha ran up to his room and opened the package first, inside was a silver bracelet, very well crafted…on the front there was an eye with a gear in it and in the center of that gear was a red jewel…maybe a ruby? On the back he caught glimpse of some really strange writing, it seemed familiar to him…but he couldn't recall from where or when? He put it on his wrist, fit like a glove, suddenly he felt a chill come over him.

Next he opened the letter from Industrial Illusions, it read:  
  
Dear Misha,  
  
Heard about your defeat in the I.C, but maybe I can help you gain back your title as a born winner…and in the meantime help me plan my takeover of a certain company which I think you've heard of.  
Write back as soon as possible…I will set up the meeting place and we can discuss more there.  
  
Sincerely, Maximillion Pegasus  
  
Thrilled to have received a letter from the creator of Duel Monsters, he quickly responded back.  
  
The next morning Misha felt like he had be hit by a semi-truck, he walked into the bathroom and turned on the light…in the mirror he saw that a part of his hair going from the middle of his forehead to the left, and spiking off at the end, had been colored maroon…and what made things worse is that nothing would obliterate the streak, then he saw it…the bracelet was back around his wrist.

He distinctively remembered taking it off before bed, so how did it get back on? Was it responsible for the hair thing? With so many questions it seemed like the more things were explained, the more mysteries remained. The morning of everyone took notice of Misha's new hair style, even at school…it made him stick out more than usual, eventually he thought that it might not be such a bad thing.

Nine months after sending the letter Misha saw a limo in the driveway, it had Industrial Illusions logo on it…he knew that it was time.


	4. Chapter 3: Meeting with the Creator

Chapter 3: Meeting with the Creator  
  
Misha took a good long hard look at the limo, Greg ran out to his side and said, "Misha, what is this doing here?" Misha looked at his brother and said, "Remember that letter I got in the mail, it was from Maximillion Pegasus himself…he wants to see me on some issue? I won't be long Greg that I promise, I'm taking my cell phone with in case anything pops up, Ciao Greg!" Misha watched the scenery of Wisconsin fly by, he found that Pegasus had ordered for the limo to take him to the airport, from there he got on a private jet, from there he'd land at another airport in California to get on a helicopter that would take him to the location of the meeting.

Misha looked at the endless blue ocean under him, he wondered where the heck the location was.well in a few hours Misha got his answer, there was a small island…and in the center of it was a castle. Misha looked at it and asked the pilot, "Is that where we're landing?"

The pilot nodded and said, "Yep, That's Duelist Kingdom…Mr. Pegasus will be meeting you inside the castle." As soon as the copter landed Misha hopped out, and was greeted by one of Pegasus' workers…he followed him down a bunch of elegantly decorated hallways some well furnished double doors, Misha opened the doors and found he was in a dining hall. And sitting on the other side of the table was Pegasus himself, he looked at Misha and said, "Ah, young Misha…please sit down?" Misha did just that, Pegasus continued: "My first guess is that you want to know why you're here…well, how would you like to be #1 duelist again? Just another shot at that piece of the pie you missed out on those many months ago?"

Misha responded with, "If you're talking about taking on Seto Kaiba again, forget it…I'm much smarter than I was last time!" Pegasus then said, "No Misha boy, I didn't mean that…allow me to rephrase it like this, I'm holding a tournament here the day after tomorrow and I thought you may want to be my choice for Alpha Duelist, or one of my associates."

Misha looked lost in thought for the moment and then replied, "I'll give you my answer tomorrow, I'm just praying Kaiba isn't there?" Misha pulled out his shoulder flask and took a swig of the beverage inside. Pegasus then said, "No, but the person who defeated him most recently will be." Hearing the word 'defeated' caused Misha to spit out his drink in pure shock, Misha than said, "Kaiba? Defeated? How?" Pegasus noticed he had grabbed Misha's attention and told him about Yugi, Misha seemed most intrigued of the Exodia cards, he had heard they existed but he hadn't expected anyone of having them. "And there's more in it for you than just that, financially speaking…with Kaiba defeated…his company is wide open for a business take over from ours, and I could see you at the helm of that."

Misha then thought to himself, "_Controlling Kaiba Corp.? Pinch me, I'm dreaming_!" Pegasus shook his head and said, "Trust me Misha boy, you aren't dreaming…give me your answer tomorrow and it could be you're possible dream come true." Misha at that point looked at Pegasus in shock, how could Pegasus know what he was thinking? He didn't even want to think about it. Well Misha was accommodated for the night, he still wondered how Pegasus had known what he was thinking…he had felt something that told him Pegasus was special, he had to test it tomorrow…but right now he deserved a rest.


	5. Chapter 4: Secrets of the Game

Chapter 4: The Secrets of the Game  
  
The next morning Misha awoke and made up his mind, he thought of a test that was so clever it was actually devious. He met up with Pegasus and said, "I've come to a decision." Pegasus looked as if Misha was about to say yes to yesterday's proposition, but instead Misha said: "This decision is much to complex for my mind…so I've devised a little game to decide my next move. I will have a card in my hand and you have to guess what it is, guess correctly and you have yourself a stooge...but guess wrong and I leave and you never darken my door again. Understand?" Pegasus nodded, Misha looked through his deck and found one of his favorite trap cards: 'Judgement of Anubis'…Misha picked it up and said, "Okay...vhat card do I have in my hand? Take all the time you need…chances are your guess will be wrong."

In about 30 seconds Pegasus wrote something on a napkin and gave it to Misha, leaving the room Misha thought Pegasus had given up, in a gloating tone of voice said, "A-HA! I knew it, you gave up…I win by the fault!" Pegasus chuckled to himself and said, "Look what I wrote on the napkin, see you later Misha boy." Misha picked up the napkin with a puzzled look on his face, but that look soon turned to a look of frustration…for on the inside of the napkin read: JUDGEMENT OF ANUBIS.

Misha was starting to wonder if Pegasus was hiding something from him, he knew from personal experience everyone had his or her own little skeletons in the closet. At that moment Misha decided to explore the castle and see what it was.  
  
That night Misha sneaked out of the guestroom and made his way down the hallways without a sound. Well, he was humming the theme from 'The Pink Panther' to himself…but he was mostly silent. Within about 10 minutes of exploring the halls, he was starting to realize what a maze this castle actually was, he then decided to turn back and go back to his room…but something was forcing him beyond his will to press on.

Eventually he decided to rest and catch his bearings, he pressed his hand against the wall to the left of him. All the sudden the brick gave way and, if by some odd event of luck...a stairwell appeared before Misha...it seemed to go down below the castle, Misha suddenly felt as if he should explore the stairwell. Well, about half way down Misha was starting to think this was a bad idea, but some sort of instinct from inside him told him that if Pegasus had a secret to hide it would be down here. At the bottom of the stairwell Misha noticed a torch lit hallway, he went towards one of the walls and saw hieroglyphs on them.

He studied them closely and suddenly came to realize he could understand the ancient writing, but how could this be...this was a language he had never studied, but some how what looked like symbols and animals to others...made perfect sense to him. Suddenly Misha could hear something from down the hallway, sounded like a group of people chanting something at the same time. Misha knew that he should turn around and go back to his room, but there seemed to be something all to familiar to him. He went in the direction of the chanting and found there was a room full of these people in dark brown robes, two people stepped out of this group and raised there arm towards the sky. Suddenly two stone tablets appeared out of the ground, Misha looked at this and asked himself: "_Are they? Could they be? Dueling? I have a feeling I'm no longer in __Appleton__ anymore_."

Misha just stayed quiet and watched, when he saw what became of the loser he suddenly blasted out, "OH MY LORD WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!?!" At that moment all of the people in that room turned their attention to Misha, Misha horrified said, "Um...I'm sorry, you see I was looking for the little guys room and I guess I got lost and found myself down here?" They swarmed around Misha, and looking by the looks of them...they didn't believe him anyhow. Misha then saw one of them come forward, he stood his ground...he had to show that he wasn't going to back down from any of them. Suddenly the stranger removed his disguise and there, it was Pegasus. Misha then caught glimpse of the object covering his left eye, Misha then asked: "M.P! I want the truth and I want it now! What is all this? And what is that thing on your face?" Pegasus smiled at Misha and said, "This is how people dueled 5,000 years ago, I based my game on this unknown fact of history. And as for your second question…this 'thing' as you put it is called the 'Millennium Eye', of course you won't live to tell anyone of this. Now prepare yourself for the Shadow Realm!" "_Shadow Realm...I don't like the sound of that! Oh Lord Almighty help me please_!" Suddenly a voice from inside Misha's head said to him, "_Leave everything to me_!" Suddenly Misha's bracelet started to glow; Misha felt something trying to takeover his mind, weeping in pain Misha hung his head so Pegasus couldn't see his face. Pegasus moved in closer to see if Misha was alive, Misha head suddenly whipped back up. Suddenly Misha said in a deeper, more hoarse tone of voice said, "IF YOU EVEN SEND A HAIR OF THIS BOY TO THE SHADOW REALM, I WILL SHOW YOU TRUE SUFFERING!" the irises of Misha's eyes started to glow white.

Pegasus saw the bracelet on Misha's wrist and said, "That bracelet, I think you better give it to me Misha?" Misha suddenly threw his arm forward, and as if by some form of magic threw Pegasus across the room…Misha then said, "IT IS NOT FOR THEE.IT IS FOR ME TO WIELD ALONE." And with that Misha returned to normal, and passed out on the floor. Pegasus looked at Misha and below his breath said, "Such power…I knew there was something strange about that bracelet, take him back up to his room."  
  
Misha woke up in his bed; puzzled of what had happened the following night...Misha rubbed his eyes and said, "Once again the ever infamous sleep must darken the corner of my eye."

Suddenly Misha remembered last night and said, "Eye.Eye.Millennium Eye that's right last night!" Misha put on his jeans, boots, shirt, and trench coat and charged for the dining hall. Pegasus was there finishing his breakfast, "I remember last night." Misha announced. Pegasus looked at him and said, "I have no idea what you're-?" but Misha cut him off with: "DON'T PLAY DUMB WITH ME M.P! I KNOW ABOUT THE ROOM, I KNOW ABOUT THE MILLENIUM EYE.AND WHAT REALLY SCARES ME OUT OF MY STEAK FONDUE MIND IS THAT I REMEMBER SOMETHING TRYING TO TAKE OVER MY BODY! I WANT ANSWERS AND I WANT THEM NOW!"

Pegasus sighed and said, "Okay, Misha boy...you want answers here they are…last night a may have disturbed a very timid and powerful spirit that resides in that bracelet of yours, now as for now I would like you to keep your emotions in check. To tell the truth I'm still scared of it and you, I don't have all the answers for the moment…but maybe as time presses on you'll find them for yourself."  
  
Outside they heard a fog horn; Misha saw a cruise ship approaching the island. Pegasus looked out the window with him and said, "They're here…freshen up and meet me at the balcony, we'll greet them here together and I'll introduce them to you." Misha nodded and went back to his quarters to clean up his appearance  
  
The Tournament was just to begin!


	6. Chapter 5: They meetface to face

Chapter 5: They meet…face to face  
  
As Misha combed his hair he thought to himself, "_How_ _wonderful this is going to be...I wonder what strategies my victims uh, I mean opponents are going to use? Well it probably won't matter…all I want to do is find the one who defeated Kaiba, and get back my place in the sun_." Misha then brushed his teeth and headed out to meet up with Pegasus, when he finally got there Pegasus turned around and said, "Misha, I want to introduce you to your task force." He pointed to one of the big guys in the black business suit and shades and said, "That's Kemo, he's the chief of personnel on the island. The only two people he takes orders from are you and me, sounds good huh?" Misha grinned at the thought and asked, "So vat kind of makes me the Law of the Land, vhat I say goes, right?" Pegasus replied, "Yes, that is a bare- boned version of it? Now, how about you say we greet the contestants of our little tournament?"Misha nodded.

Both of them stepped out onto a balcony and immediately Misha saw what seemed to be and endless swarm of people below them, Misha listened as Pegasus gave a little welcoming speech, when it was Misha's turn to speak he said: "Hello one and all, I don't know all of you, but you should know me? My Name is Misha, and in Duelist Kingdom I'm the one who makes sure the rules and consequences are served evenly. If you think any of my actions in this tournament are unjust or unfair, it is either because it is not my top priority or I just don't really care. I'll be keeping my eye on every one of you if I can spare it. I wish you all the best of luck and hope to see you in the finals."

Later on Misha went strolling the grounds of the Kingdom, when he saw a few people up the road talking to each other. He shouted out, "HEY YOU THERE!" they all turned around, "YES YOU, WAIT UP!" Misha called out, running up to them. When he reached them he said, "Sorry for stopping you on the road, I don't suppose you don't already know who I am?" They all looked at him, one of them said, "It's okay, we're not in a real hurry to be anywhere…any way Misha, my name's Yugi." Misha glared at him and said, "Yugi? The same Yugi that beat Seto Kaiba with the Exodia cards?" Yugi nodded Misha then hugged him and said, "Thank you, I've just been waiting for someone to put him in his place, ever so very long." Then he saw the others and asked, "And who are your companions?" Yugi introduced him to Joey, Tèa, and Tristen, at that moment he noticed that Tèa and Tristen didn't possess a dueling glove as well as any Star Chips.

"Wait……you two don't have a dueling glove, you're not supposed to be here. I'm afraid I'll have to have your two friends here removed from the island ASAP." Misha reached into his trench coat and pulled out a walkie-talkie, Yugi argued: "Please let them stay Misha, they won't do anything wrong. I swear on my own grave!" Misha looked them over and said, "Okay, I'll let them stay on face value alone. But one screw up, STRIKE THREE! THEY'RE OUT OF HERE!" Yugi thanked Misha for letting them stay. Before he left Misha asked, "Oh Yugi, I hope this isn't too much to ask? But, could I see the Exodia cards?" Yugi showed him the three he had left, Misha asked: "Where's the rest of them?" Yugi answered, "One of the duelists threw them overboard, my friend Joey tried to rescue them...but he only got these three back." Misha said, "A lot of duelists lose their favorite cards or rarest cards, the question is.how is it going to change your strategy. Who threw them overboard? Maybe I can help you find him?" Yugi said, "It was Weevil, I should of known better than to trust him with those cards!"

Misha went into a train of thought and muttered to himself, "Weevil…Mr. Underwood?! I know where he is, he's back up the road that way and to the left, with that bright green suit of his how could I miss him." Misha watched them head up the road, Misha thought to himself, "What am I doing standing here to my lonesome, I want to see how good this kid is!" and ran after them From a dense part of the trees Misha could watch the duel and stay out of sight, he watched them turn by turn…when Weevil brought he Great Moth to the field Misha said to himself, "Yugi has to think fast now...there's a few combination of cards that I know of that could stop that, which one is he going to pick?"

Eventually Misha saw the final move; Yugi used that Mist- Summon Skull combo. Misha then said to himself, "Not bad, guess Mr. Underwood didn't count on karma. Well, he got vhat was coming to him. Looks like I've found another worthy rivalry at long last. Better watch your six Yugi, cause you're about to meet your equal." Misha's irises glowed white at the mentioning of 'equal'.


	7. Chapter 6: Misha's Bad Side

Chapter 6: Misha's Bad Side  
  
Misha returned to the castle, wondering how long this tournament would last. He remembered the promise to his brother, but already he could see boats taking off from the harbor…he guessed within a day or two, this would all be over and he could go home. Misha then looked at his bracelet looked ordinary from his point of view. He needed to know what it could do, he did a few hand gestures...but nothing happened; though the gem on the bracelet glowed a bit.

Misha walked on; he was just to the door when BAM! He felt as if he ran into a wall of some kind. He studied the area and reached out for the door, he grabbed nothing but air. Misha then looked at the bracelet and faced the eye in the direction of the door, keeping his palm open...with his free hand he reached out and felt something solid in front of him, he smiled deviously at this, he had to test it out.

Once in the castle courtyard he saw one of the security personnel walking by...he did the same hand gesture as he had before, sure enough it worked. Misha tried a few other hand gestures…he found that by clenching his fist he could freeze a person in his/her tracks, and by putting his hand together in an X shape he could put them in an invisible box. Misha then heard a voice laugh out; it seemed to be coming from all around him, it sounded like his laugh only in a much more hoarse tone of voice. Misha went back up to his room slightly shaken, that voice...whose was it? Misha went into the bathroom to wash up when he heard the hoarse laughter again; he looked in the mirror and then saw what had to be the most shocking experience in his life. Standing in the mirror next to him was a transparent version of him only a few inches taller, it winked at him. Misha whirred around and yelled, "HEY, who the hell are you?"

The transparent version of him said, "_Misha, Misha, Misha...I've helped you get this far and understand your power more clearly, and you don't even recognize my voice. I'm the spirit of the Millennium Bracelet; I guess you could call me Misha too, since I don't remember my name off hand_." Misha gave the transparent stranger a sly look and said, "You were that thing that took over my body last night." The stranger nodded and said, "_But I didn't account on your mental defenses...I guess I deserved it, but now that you know of my existence...I guess you should let you know the bracelet can do much more than what you just learned, but what those things are you'll have to find for yourself_." Misha went into an hour and a half conversation with this person, by the time they were finished it was time for lunch. He joined Pegasus in the Dining Hall; something inside Misha told him not to tell Pegasus of the spirit inside the bracelet. As Misha was taking a swig of his shoulder flask, one of Pegasus' men came in and told them a certain 'house guest' had escaped, Pegasus asked Misha to go out and find their 'house guest' and bring him back here.

Misha took one more swig of his flask and said, "Okay, seeing as I've got nothing better to do. I'll find your little escaped convict." Sad to say, but Misha didn't know who he was looking for, but he searched the island thoroughly. When he finally reached the harbor, whom should he see there but Yugi and his friends. It looked as if they were arguing with Kemo over some little detail; Misha came up behind them and said, "HEY! Is there a problem here Kemo? Perhaps you need a third party suggestion?" Yugi told Misha of the duelist who had his Star Chips stolen, when they had brought them back, Kemo had already shipped him out with the other eliminated duelists. Misha went into a shallow train of thought and said, "Can I see these stolen Star Chips?" Yugi handed them to him; Misha closed his hand around them and walked over to the side of the pier saying, "Now let me see if I get this straight? You helped a duelist in need, but seeing that he is already on the island. These Star Chips have now exceeded their purpose and are of no more use to him." Misha then opened his hand and dropped the Star Chips into the water.

Misha turned around and said with a smirk, "There that takes care of the Star Chip problem, now if you pardon me I have a prisoner to find." As Misha was about to leave he heard a voice say to him, "Long time no see Misha, still living in the past?" Misha turned around and saw Seto's little brother standing about a few feet from him. Misha said, "Mokuba…so you're the person I was sent out to find?" Misha turned to Kemo and winked, at that moment Kemo came up right behind the kid and grabbed hold of him. Everyone demanded that Misha let him go, Misha said: "I had orders from M.P to bring him back to the castle, now if you excuse me and Kemo…it's time we reported back with our prisoner." They kept badgering him about it though, right to the point where he said, "LOOK, I'M THE DAMN LAW OF THE LAND AROUND HERE! IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT? TOUGH!"

Tristen then charged at Misha saying, "Well the Law sucks!" and brought back his arm to punch Misha, Misha retaliated by clenching his fist. Tristen's fist then stopped only a few inches from nailing Misha between the eyes, Tristen felt as if something was holding his are in place. Misha smiled and said, "Don't mess with the law man, under stand that?" Misha then threw his free arm forward; Tristen flew through the air like a rag doll. Misha looked at them and said, "Don't mess with me; I'm more powerful than by what you just see?" Kemo then came up to Misha and whispered something in his ear, Misha then said: "Well Yugi, from what I've just heard. It seems you have a challenger waiting for you at arena #197, follow me if you will?" Misha lead them to the arena, there they all got the shock of their lives. Because waiting at the arena was Seto Kaiba, Misha looked at him and said, "Um, I got to talk with the boss?" and with that took off for the castle.  
  
Misha went right for the dining hall and said, "WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?!" Pegasus looked at Misha's facial expression and said, "I believe you just met Yugi boy's next opponent?" Misha scowled and argued, "What is he doing here, I thought you said Kaiba wasn't going to be here. And then out of the blue itself, he shows up here! All I have to say is you better have a good, and I mean this has to be the best explanation you've ever given me!"

Pegasus took a sip of his wine glass and said, "Misha, I knew that you would take it this way so I'll say that thought to your eye it may look like Seto Kaiba? It is actually only part of him, the actual Kaiba met a watery end so to speak." Misha shook his head and said, "Don't count him out yet, ever since I lost to him it's like him and I share a slight psychic link, and something in my marrow is telling me he's still alive." A giant television screen suddenly appeared from above Misha, Pegasus said: "Come and sit down Misha, the match is about to begin." Misha took out his shoulder flask and sat down, Pegasus asked: "What's in that flask anyway?" Misha smiled and said, "Oh, just a mix drink. Two parts fruit punch, a part Siberian Vodka. It's really, really good." Within the first few moves Misha started to notice a difference between the Kaiba he had known and this one, Misha just kept watching. Misha suddenly shuddered, as if he had sensed something going on behind the seams of this duel. He then asked, "M.P? Can we get in to your company's archives from here?" Pegasus nodded and pointed to a small phone jack in the wall behind them, Misha took a hand held computer from his pocket and plugged it in. Misha was in the company's archives searching for something, Misha said: "Where are you, I know you're in here some where?" Eventually he was in the Duelist Kingdom Tournament files when he said, "I know you're in here somewhere? Come out; come out where ever you are?" Suddenly Misha smiled and said, "M.P? My instincts were right, there's a hacker in the system. It's going to take me a while to stop him, but I can do it!"

Misha's fingers moved like crazy against the screen of the mini computer, Misha then found out where the hacker was. He discovered the REAL Seto Kaiba had survived, and more or less was help Yugi win the duel through the World Wide Web! Misha said to himself, "Okay Kaiba, let's see who the king of the hackers is?" In about ten minutes Misha finally disconnected with a smile on his face saying, "Nobody out-hacks Misha, NOBODY!" Misha just had enough time to see the end of the duel, Yugi won.

Misha heard what Yugi said to Pegasus, just then he felt the spirit of the bracelet trying to take over again, it said, "IS THAT SO!? WELL THEN YUGI, WHEN WE MEET? I WILL SHOW YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS LITTLE REMORSE!" Pegasus backed away from Misha, once again the spirit of the bracelet revealed itself to him. What is its purpose here, what did it want from Yugi? These were questions only time would answer.


	8. Chapter 7: Misha Senses the Ring

Chapter 7: Misha senses the Ring  
  
With night approaching Misha looked up at the sky and saw a full moon, he stared at it and thought to himself: "Man, I've never seen the moon that well at night? Or the stars for that matter. I guess out of all the things I thought I needed, a little brother, a girlfriend and what have you...I guess all I truly needed was a little time out of the city." Pegasus walked up beside him and looked at the stars with him and said, "You can see them rather clearly around here can't you Misha boy?"

Misha turned to him and said, "I guess it wasn't a bad mistake coming here after all, there's just one thing on my mind vat I can't get over…and it's vhat troubles me, Kaiba's little brother. Vhat is he doing here?" Pegasus then just gave Misha a look that told Misha there was a bigger picture than what had met his eye, Pegasus answered, "Misha…I'm sure you remember how I said that you'd soon be able to control Kaiba Corp.? Well in order to do that we had to make sure that neither of the brothers Kaiba could take control of it again…and that meant kidnapping the younger one."

Misha scowled at this and growled, "Kidnapping? KIDNAPPING!?! Oh LORD and Seraphs align yourselves and smite this blind fool down! I should've helped him escape…but lo and behold, I wanted control of an empire through fair battle with little casualty? Not through kidnapping and murder, for what kind of empire would I then control? One bathed in blood and treachery!" Pegasus looked at Misha and said, "Don't look at it as a bad thing, after all…if all goes according to our plan-?" Misha cut him off and said, "Our plan? OUR PLAN! There's no our.it was your plan all this time. I said I'd help you in any way possible to my fancy, but if I had known that it could only be obtained through death and treachery I would have been back home with my family. Dear Mother, Father, Brother and ancestors forgive me deeply please, for I have disgraced the entire family!"

Pegasus put his hand on Misha's shoulder and said, "Misha I know right now it looks very bad to you, but think about this after leaving here…have you damaged your pride all that much? And if not, is it worth feeling this sorry for yourself over?" Misha stood up and made off for his living quarters, ticked off at what he had just learned. After a while Misha calmed down and looked at his cards, shuffling through them…every one of his, he took out a select few and looked at them, he mumbled to himself: "Cyber Falcon, yeah I could see myself as this card, flying freely over and away from this island. Humph! Judgement of Anubis, yeah that's what I feel like...like I'm being judged by the souls and hearts of so many people, being judged by the Kaiba brothers."

Misha then slowly started to fall asleep, and had possibly what he would've described as one of the weirdest dreams he had ever had enter his mind, he was standing in the midst of a fog...he couldn't see anything in front of him. When it cleared Misha saw before him a huge building, he didn't have to look over too much to guess what it was, it was Kaiba Corp. HQ. Misha walked up to the door and put his hand against it. The exact moment he put his hand against the door he felt something wet press against it; he removed his hand from the door and looked at his palm.

His palm was covered in blood! Misha yelled out, "An empire of blood and treachery…if that is what you are then I don't want anything to do with you!" suddenly the whole building seemed to bleed, and all of the blood was flying and falling everywhere. Misha shielded his eyes and kept yelling, "I DON'T WANT IT, I DON'T WANT IT, I DON'T WANT IT, I DON'T WANT ANY OF IT ANYMORE!" Suddenly the building collapsed on Misha and exploded into a complete bloodbath, Misha then felt the ground beneath him swallow him up. After falling for a bit, Misha hit a solid patch of ground…looking around Misha realized he was in some sort of chamber, he looked around feeling his way through it. Soon he came to another chamber, well lit this time.

He stepped into the center of it and found against the wall to the right of him were several items made of gold, all bearing the same eye shaped symbol on a part of them. Misha noticed that three of them were glowing…but what did it mean? Misha then turned around and saw three other items against the opposite wall; all made of what looked like steel or possibly silver. Misha then recognized the item in the center, it was his bracelet. The other two items were a circlet and a gauntlet bearing the same symbol as his bracelet. And to his surprise it was glowing too. Misha looked at the room very carefully, there seemed to be nothing important about it…just the items and that was it. Suddenly a voice came from the doorway: "I should've known you be here, this room both shocks me and intrigues me. On the right wall I see the seven Millennium Items of Egypt, and to my left I see the three Millennium Items of The Machine Empire." Misha looked back and saw the spirit of the bracelet standing in the doorway. Misha asked, "I see four of these ten items glowing, what does that mean?" The spirit answered: "It means that they are close, you already possess the bracelet…the items known as the Millennium Puzzle, Eye and Ring are somewhere on the island." Misha looked at the three items that were glowing, then he said: "Wait, I've seen these two before! Pegasus possesses the Millennium Eye, and if my memory recalls I think that Yugi possesses the Millennium Puzzle? But then."

Misha looked at the Millennium Ring and asked, "Who possesses the Ring?" Suddenly a basin full of water appeared in the middle of the room, the spirit and Misha both walked over and looked into it. The spirit said, "The Ghost Pool...it has appeared as if to answer your question? To tell the truth, I at first did not believe that you had power over the Shadow Magic without my aid, but now I not know what to believe anymore. You will have your answer in due time, suddenly the basin showed a white dot of light in a sea of darkness, and from beyond that darkness was a rather bluish-purple haze. The spirit said, "I see, the Ghost Pool has revealed that the one you look for is an innocent bound to a evil spirit who would care less for its host, and the haze reveals that it is at this moment in a shadow game."

Misha looked at the spirit and said, "WHAT? Is that it? No face, no name……just a stupid visual!"

The spirit said, "The Ghost Pool is an oracle of the Shadow Realm, it need not give you a straight answer." Misha gave a look of 'figures.' Just then a blinding white light came down the tunnel, Misha asked: "What the hell is that?" The spirit said, "The night is over…and with that so is this dream." Misha awoke to a new day and asked himself, "It was all a dream…but strange thing is, it felt so real?" just then Misha felt something strange on his hand, as if it were dry paint or tar. Misha looked at his palm and behold dried blood.

Misha raced into the bathroom and washed it off, in some strange way all of this had happened. Misha exited the bathroom, knowing now that another Item was present on the island…and Misha didn't feel too much like letting it stay. It or its host  
  
So there's the chapter, PLEASE send me some reviews…I could use some constructive criticism on the next chapter or the story here?


	9. Chapter 8: Enemies or Allies?

Chapter 9: Enemies or Allies?

That morning Misha felt more confused than ever, still many questions remained…who possessed the Millennium Ring. And if he found out who, would the person be allowed to stay on the island? Misha kept thinking about this almost all day, Misha then saw something out of the blue that seemed a bit out of place. A rather reflective object, metallic no doubt. Misha went down to get a better look, there he saw a pretty expensive looking helicopter, when he saw the Kaiba Corp. symbol on its side he knew Seto was on the island. Misha guessed that Kaiba was here to rescue his little brother. Misha thought to himself, "_Not to shabby Seto, landing in the bush kept your copter hidden from anyone…but then again you didn't count on the keen eyes of Misha._"

Misha rushed back up to the castle and headed down to the mass of tunnels that ran below it, Misha knew that somewhere in this mass of tunnels Seto Kaiba was searching for his brother. Misha then thought, "_You know…now that I think of it? Kaiba's not the only one who has someone to care about and look after, I have my brother back home…I know vhat I have to do now!_" And with that Misha darted down and about the tunnels hoping that he would run into Kaiba, after about ten minutes Misha, exhausted from all his running collapsed against a wall and said, "(_gasp_) Maybe I'll just (_gasp_) wait for (_gasp_) him to find me?" In five minutes Misha got his response, for at that moment Misha heard the intruder alarm go off. And what's more but Seto Kaiba coming down his way, when Kaiba saw Misha he just froze and stared at him.

"Seto Kaiba…so nice to see you again, years treating you well?" Misha said in an amused tone of voice. "Out of my way Misha! I have to find my brother!" Seto responded Misha then said: "Why should a duelist with the Three Blue-Eyes White Dragons care about anyone else but himself? If you're asking me S.K, you're better off without him." Kaiba looked at Misha, Misha looked into Kaiba's eyes and said, "Dear me…you really do care about your sibling that much, that you would risk your own hide to rescue his! Vell then, I know vhat I'll do…I'll take you to him." Seto looked at Misha literally stunned by Misha's offer, Misha looked back at him and asked: "Well? Are you coming or aren't you?!" Kaiba then came back to reality and said, "Right, let's go!"

Misha looked around corners and kept counting the tunnels they came through…eventually Misha said, "We're almost there, just a few more corridors and I believe you two will be reunited." Kaiba then decided to ask a question of Misha, "Wait…before we go one step further, you've got to answer this question for me. Why are you helping me find my brother?" Misha just shook his head in pity and answered, "Because, you're not the only with someone else to look after…for you see, I have a sibling as well. And if our positions were completely switched, you'd help me find my brother." Kaiba looked a little taken back by this, Misha looked down one of the corridors and said, "We're close…I just know it now." Misha and Seto took a couple of lefts went straight down one corridor and Seto saw that Misha had reunited them and kept his word.

Misha suddenly froze in horror and murmured something to himself; just then he punched Seto in the back of the head and kicked him in the sides a few times. Seto didn't understand why Misha had first done him a favor…then go berserk and attack him like this, but in a few minutes it all made clear sense, for who should be coming down the other end of the hall but Pegasus.

Misha rose to his full height and said, "Look Pegasus, I caught Kaiba…he threw up a bit of resistance, but nothing I couldn't handle?" Pegasus smirked at Misha and said, "Good job Misha boy, but…don't you think you're forgetting a small detail?" Misha looked a little nervous and said, "Begging your pardon sir, but I haven't a clue vhat you're talking about?"

Pegasus revealed the Millennium Eye to Seto and Misha saying, "Okay, if that's the façade you're going to play with me than this will be the penalty." He then turned in the direction of Seto's brother, Misha yelled out" MOKUBA, DON'T LOOK—!" but that's all that he was able to say, for Misha knew the young one's fate. Kaiba looked at Misha and in a stern tone, "Misha…you better explain what just happened here, plus you better help me."

Misha, looking as if his chance to repent all he had done had been smashed said: "Your brother's soul has been sent to the Shadow Realm, and as for helping you…I'm afraid me hands are tied." Misha then walked over to Pegasus' side and just hung his head.

Pegasus then explained to Kaiba that if he kept Yugi from making it to the castle for just a little longer, he promised Kaiba that he would duel him for his brother's soul. He gave Kaiba five Star Chips and a dueling glove and left. Misha turned back and looked at Kaiba for a moment, it looked as if Misha was about to apologize to Kaiba! But instead…all that came out of his mouth was: "Don't be surprised if the deal is altered, Okay?" And that was all.


	10. Chapter 9: Misha's Second Chance

Chapter 9: Misha's Second Chance

Misha went back to his quarters and collapsed on his bed, as he slowly turned over he thought to himself, "_Lord, what have I done? I've literally given a rival's little brother a fate worse than death. I've helped the devil in acquiring a corporation on a sierra of with held information, on an empire of treachery. I don't know what to do at this point?_"

Just then a voice answered, "You could let Kaiba win…if you two duel again that is?" Misha turned in head to see the transparent form of the Spirit of the Bracelet sitting down on the bed next to him. Misha shook his head and said, "No, no, no…it was humiliating enough the first time. I'm not going down that road again!" The Spirit sighed and said, "Well then, there are really only two options for you…either beat Kaiba and feel even more lousy, or take the dive and disappoint Pegasus?" Misha rolled over on his belly and said, "I wish I didn't have to do either."

Misha drifted into a nap, in that nap he then again say the Ghost Pool. He then looked in it and said: "Well, you didn't help me much with finding the holder of the Millennium Ring. Could you show me something else; I feel in my blood that right now Yugi and Kaiba are dueling. What I need to know is 'who will win'?" Suddenly the Ghost pool showed him the Millennium Puzzle, below that was a broken wine bottle. Misha looked at it and said, "A broken spirit…so Kaiba is the victor of this duel?"

Suddenly the image changed to show a few chest pieces, A Black King and Knight piece and a White Knight and Pawn piece. Misha didn't know what that meant. Suddenly the image went completely black in the pool; suddenly a red glowing dot appeared in the middle of the pool. Misha stared at it; suddenly a gear appeared around the red dot, followed by a white oblong shape. Misha then saw that it was an eye, not a human eye…but a magic eye, an ancient magic eye.

Suddenly the jewel of Misha's bracelet started to glow, its red light frightened Misha right out of his nap. Misha then walked to the dining hall and saw Pegasus there already. Misha asked, "So, who won the duel?" Pegasus told him that Kaiba won using this new dueling system his company made, Misha looked at the giant screen and saw that Kaiba was on his way to the arena. Pegasus looked at Misha and said, "Why don't we go and greet him?" Misha then said, "M.P, I'd like to make a prediction? I predict that Yugi and his friends will be here in the castle before the day is through? Would you like to make a wager on that?"

Misha followed Pegasus to the area where the finals would be held, on the other side of the bridge Misha saw Kaiba. Misha thought to himself, "_I just wish I could say I was sorry to the guy? I didn't mean to put his family through so much, vell…whatever happens will be okay with me._" Misha then took a look around and saw that Yugi and his friends were here at the finals, probably to watch Kaiba's next duel.

Misha turned his attention back to Pegasus and Kaiba, at this point Pegasus said, "Kaiba boy, you fulfilled your promise…for this you'll be allowed to duel for your brothers' soul. But may I suggest a warm up match for you first?" Both Kaiba and Misha looked surprised by this announcement…Pegasus continued with: "Yes, a warm up match…and not just any warm up match. But one that will settle a rivalry that's been a year in the making. Do you remember what today is Kaiba? Go ahead and guess." Kaiba looked lost in thought for a moment, Misha knew what day it was…but he couldn't remember the significance of it. Pegasus finished with, "Give up, well I'll tell you then…it is exactly been one year since you beat Misha in the I.C Tournament Finals, so your opponent will be Misha!"

Misha suddenly felt he spine freeze up, had Pegasus stood him up? Or was this an original part of the plan? So many questions, so few answers. Misha stared at Kaiba…it seemed as much a surprise to him as well, Misha finally snapped out of his trance and said, "Okay, I've been waiting a long time to test out my deck…all I can say is Kaiba, you have little hope of winning."

Kaiba smirked slightly and said, "Misha…you'll be no challenge at all, catch!" Kaiba threw Misha a duel disk and continued: "We'll duel using these, it shouldn't be very difficult for you." Misha looked at the duel disk and said, "I don't know how to use this? This is not a game system, it is but a hunk of steel you welded together to look like something useful!" Misha then put it on the ground and then kicked it back to Kaiba. Misha continued: "If you're going to duel me…we're going to duel the way I learned to."

Just then the bridge disconnected and a giant dueling arena was lowered from the ceiling above them, the bridge then connected to the arena and they were set. Misha pulled out his deck and said, "Here are the rules, we'll cut our opponents deck…when they are returned to us look at the bottom card, the one with the highest level monster will go first…is that clearly understood?" Kaiba nodded, when the decks were cut and returned to their owners Misha said, "Three…what did you get?" Kaiba looked and said, "Zero…but no worries, this'll be short."

Misha drew his five cards and sixth and said, "For my first move I play Cyber Falcon in attack mode…and I'll also play three cards face down! Your move Kaiba." Kaiba looked at Misha's opening move and remembered something familiar about it, he thought to himself, "_Where have I seen this before…Wait, the Finals…this was his same opening move!_" Kaiba then looked at his hand and saw that nearly all the cards in his hand were the same ones in that first turn! Kaiba said, "Your first move might be the same as it was that day, but it still won't save you! I play Ryu-Kishin Powered in attack mode and play one card face down and end-!" Kaiba was suddenly cut off by Misha saying, "In that case I activate my trap card Bottomless Trap hole!" Just then Kaiba watched as his monster was swallowed up the arena. Misha smiled and said, "You know Kaiba there is a saying I have heard...**those that don't remember the past, are doomed to repeat it**. And since it is my turn again now…Cyber Falcon, attack Kaiba's Life Points directly! Oh, and I nearly forgot I play one card face down to end my turn." Kaiba could only watch as his Life Points went from 2000 to 600.

Kaiba gave Misha a cold look and said; "Fine Misha, but I'll still beat you! And since your turn in over, I play Rude Kaiser in attack mode and have him carve up your mechanical canary. Misha's Life Points fell to 1600; Misha just sighed and said, "Easy come…easy go. Are you done?" Kaiba shook his head and said, "I also play my magic card Invigoration which increases Rude Kaisers' attack power by 400 points, now I'm finished." Misha looked at his cards and said, "Dear me…it seems you have me in a corner?" Misha drew his next card and said, "Or do you? I play Witty Phantom in defense mode, but that's not all…I also play one of my face down cards Offerings to the Doomed. Now vhat this little card does is destroy one face up monster, mainly your Rude Kaiser. But with me playing this card I now have a dilemma for I must skip my next draw phase. And with that it is your move."

Kaiba drew his next card and said, "I play-!" Misha cut him off again saying, "Wait, now I see my chance to use this! I activate my last face down card Gamble. Now let me explain to you how this card works, I at this moment only have one card in my hand…and you have six, doesn't that seem unfair…well this trap card can change that! All I have to do is flip a coin and call HEADS or TAILS, if I guess right I get to draw until I have five cards in my hand…but if I guess wrong I have to skip another draw phase. Well here goes nothing?" Misha flipped the coin, on its way back down to the field Misha shouted, "TAILS!" They watched as the coin rolled around a bit then fell to one side, and that side was…tails. Misha gave a sigh of relief and drew his new hand. Misha said, "Well lucky me I suppose, as you were saying?" Kaiba looked back at his hand and said, "Now I play Saggi the Dark Clown in attack mode, I also play one card face down and end my turn."

Misha studied the field carefully and said, "I guess all I can do is play this monster face down defense, switch my Witty Phantom to attack mode, and play these two cards, Mystic Plasma Zone and Rain of Mercy! Now allow me to explain these cards to you…Rain of Mercy boost both our Life Points by 1000, meaning I'm now at 2600 and you're at 1600. Mystic Plasma Zone is a card that helps our monsters by giving them a 500-attack point boost. Now, Witty Phantom attack that blasted clown…it is starting to annoy me. Oh…and I put one more card face down, your move." Suddenly Kaiba's Life Points went from 1600 to 800.

Kaiba was starting to get really T'd off with Misha, the next card Kaiba drew was probably the one he need now the most. It was one of his Blue Eyes White Dragons, Kaiba gave a look of 'about time' and said, "That's it, PLAY TIME IS OVER!" Misha then shouted, "HOLD IT! STOP RIGHT THERE! I'd like to play a little guessing game with that card? You're probably saying to yourself 'what am I talking about!' Well the card I put down on the field was none other than Prophecy, with this card I have to guess if the card in your hand if above or below 1500 attack points? If I guess right then I get the card, simple enough?" Misha looked as if he was in a deep sanction of thought then said, "I think that the card you're about to play is above 1500 attack points, but then I think what could it possibly be? Then I answer my question with 'what was taken from me long ago by you?' and the answer is simple. It is one of the Blue Eyes White Dragons!"

Kaiba looked completely stunned, but regained his nerves and said, "Okay, not like its going to do any good for you anyway." Misha looked at it and said, "Ah, old friend…we've been reunited at long last." Kaiba played one card face down to end his turn. Misha said, "My turn, I draw and see that this is the card I'd like to play…but I'll let you live for one more turn, I'll just flip up my face down monster: Mask of Darkness, use it's effect, and end my turn." Misha reached into his graveyard and pulled a card out of it (a trap card due to the effect of Mask of Darkness). Kaiba looked at Misha's side of the field; so far things had been pitted up against him. But he wasn't going to give up that easy, he drew a card and said, "I play Sword Stalker in attack mode, and I think I'll attack that Phantom of yours, and I'll put one card face down and that's it." Misha just sighed again as his Life Points went down from 2600 to 2000, Kaiba just didn't understand…how could Misha's confidence be that strong? At the end of his turn Misha decided to play his Barrel Dragon, but then thought that Kaiba might see that coming. Then he thought maybe it was time to play the Blue Eyes…now that he had it, he had to use it. He looked up at Kaiba and said, "Now I play-!" But Kaiba quickly said, "Ain't gonna happen Misha, I activate my face down card Trap Hole!" Misha then said, "But you didn't here what monster I was going to play? Now as I was saying, Now I play Blue Eyes White Dragon in attack mode, but seeing as you Trap Holed it, and also seeing as it was your monster, it returns to your graveyard. In other words, good going Seto!"

Kaiba didn't know what to think all he could do was have his Sword Stalker attack Mask of Darkness, and that ended his turn. Misha said, "What Kaiba…no more surprises? No more last minute calls? Indeed how you have changed. Now it is my turn! Now I play Barrel Dragon, but not only will I do that…I'll also activate its' effect. Which starts with the flipping of a coin, as you can see there are three gun-like structures on Barrel Dragon's back. I'll flip the coin, if it lands HEADS twice, your monster is destroyed. Is that understood?" Kaiba nodded, Misha flipped the coin. It landed on tails, Misha flinched…then flipped the coin a second time, it landed on heads. Misha and Kaiba both knew that the fate of Sword Stalker would come down to a single flip of the coin, Misha flipped the coin. They both watched to see luck's final verdict, Misha bit his upper lip. When the coin came to a rest Misha looked at it and smiled…HEADS! The effect of Barrel Dragon was a go, Misha looked at Kaiba and said: "I guess you know vhat this means…the duel is over, you lose!" Kaiba couldn't do anything but watch Misha's Barrel Dragon send his Life Points down to 0, and there lied the final verdict…Misha had won.

Misha then walked right over to Seto's side of the field and said, "You fought well today, there were actually a few times I thought you truly did have me." Misha then looked up at his spectators and pointed to them saying, "And I'm going to expect you to know what this means!" Misha then returned to the entranceway, Pegasus all ready. Misha said, "He's all yours boss."

Well to speed things along, some of us know how Kaiba's match with Pegasus ended. Misha didn't care how the match ended so he took a walk out into the courtyard of the castle, Misha then looked at the evening sky and said, "This is it…I'm back and better than before, beware all finalists…for when stepping through that door into the castle, you left all your luck behind. So now all of you are just holding on to a prayer!"

***

So what do you think? (PLEASE SEND ME A REVIEW, I'M BEGGING YOU!)


	11. Chapter 10: Misha and the RingBecome Fri...

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Chapter 10: Misha and The Ring…Become Friends

With night approaching Misha made his way to the Dining Hall, there he knew he would meet the finalists. Just then the Spirit of the Bracelet appeared walking right next to him, it said: "Excellent bout Misha, I wouldn't have settled for any less than an exact and flawless victory…which is some of what you gave. But I did notice that Yugi had another friend with them…don't you recall the balcony?" Misha thought for a moment and said, "Yeah you're right there was another one there, that white haired kid…I should probably ask his name when I get to the Dining Hall." The spirit then said, "It was not his name I was interested in…it was more of what was around his neck that I have a impulse to have." Misha went into deep thought and then muttered, "The Ring…he bears the Millennium Ring!" The spirit nodded and said, "He could make a valuable acquaintance…If he sides with us that is?" and with that he vanished, Misha then made a sprint for the Dining Hall. Making it just in time, he sat down and gave a sigh of relief. Misha then realized he was early, he thought to himself, "_Just like always Misha…you're afraid of running late when in truth you're actually on time, well…might as well wait for them._"

Misha really didn't have all that long to wait, within ten minutes the finalists arrived in the Dining Hall. Misha got up from his seat, bowed and said, "Please have a seat, a meal shall be served as soon as the host of this tournament arrives and has a seat. But before he arrives I'd like to at least know your names, I already have met our dear finalists Yugi and Joey…but it is the other two that I wish to know, as well as our new little companion of the group." Misha soon learned the names of the other two finalists, Mia and Bandit Keith. Misha then stared directly at the White haired youth and asked for his name, well Misha got the answer of 'Bakura' Misha smirked and said, "Bakura…that is an interesting name…well with all that aside, to our finalists I wish the best of luck…and to their friends I pray that our paths may cross again someday."

Just then Pegasus (with manservant Croquet at his side) entered the room, Misha said: "Now in a couple of seconds we should have our meal…I hope you all enjoy soup? Master Pegasus and me made it special for this occasion." What made the soup so special is that an eye popped up from the bottom of it, funny thing is the eye was only present in the finalists' bowls. Joey started making a fuss of the incident; Misha gave a look of annoyance and said, "Just open it up numb skull! Inside should be a letter…don't worry, that letter is very important." When everyone did as Misha had asked, Misha then asked: "Now the importance of these letters if for the finals, Allow me to turn your attention to the screen behind me and Master Pegasus…Tomorrows duels are as follows, Duelist A vs. Duelist B, & Duelist C vs. Duelist D. But before the you can duel in the finals you need one of two cards, Croquet…if I may show them the cards they'll need?" Croquet handed Misha two cards and continued, "These are the two cards you'll need…Glory of the Kings' Treasure and/or Glory of the Kings' Opposite Hand. Glory of the Kings' Treasure puts you up for the $3,000,000 prize, Glory of the Kings' Opposite Hand entitles you to a match with Master Pegasus. Now I know that for some of you…you may not have both cards, not a problem…because you only need one of the two."

Misha looked at scanned the dining table looking at everyone's facial expressions; Misha finished with, "Well if you would please finish your meals I'm pretty sure your rooms are ready, see you all tomorrow I suppose? Good bye." And with that Misha started to leave, Mia turned to Misha and asked, "Good bye, don't you mean 'Good Luck'?" Misha looked back at her and gave a soft smile and said, "Well if I were any of you I'd either show up at the arena with one of those cards or don't show up at the arena at all…(_light laughter_) GOOD LUCK!" Misha's voice became rather hard and cold on the words 'Good Luck'. That sent a few people sinking into their chairs. Misha went through the doors and that was the evening for him.

Misha went up to his room and pulled out from its closet a scarlet robe, with bands of silver fabric lining the bottom and the hood. Misha decided to join those priests in the secret basement tonight, hoping everything would go uninterrupted, Misha waited until sundown to begin his journey down there. Pegasus met him at the bottom of the stairwell down there and said, "Misha boy…I doubted whether you'd join us or not, but here you are. Now let's go…our shadow games await, and best not keep them waiting a second longer."

Misha saw yet again the temple like room, Misha bellowed out: "STEP ASIDE MORTALS…LET A REAL DUELIST SHOWS YOU HOW THE GAME IS WON!" Misha took on a few challengers, he barely beat them. Pegasus applauded Misha's victory and said, "That was good…though I saw you hesitate for a few seconds, you shouldn't try to resist him." Misha looked at Pegasus and said, "I just don't want him to take over completely…that's all, I don't want to say vat I don't need his advice…but I did very vell on my own, don't you think?" Pegasus nodded and said, "Just trust him, the shadow games are 5,000 years old…that item of yours is 5,000 years old, these games are its home turf. Just trust him…that's all I ask of you for now." Misha then watched Pegasus at work, at one point Misha decided to pull a fake yawn and said: "I guess that's okay…if you like taking forever?"

Pegasus then said, "Well, if you think I take forever…come down here and face me yourself." Misha moved rather uneasy by this challenge, then gathering up what little self respect he had said: "Umm…how about a warm up for me before that?" Pegasus' eye gave a rather sly look, Misha then argued, "No I'm not chicken…I just like taking gradual strides to perfection is all." Misha then heard the sound of footsteps coming down the hall, sounded like a group of people. But he couldn't worry about that now, he had a shadow game to win. Misha kept shifting his right eye to the entrance every few seconds, soon he saw Tristen, Tèa, and Bakura had somehow ended up down here. Misha then thought to himself, "_Why don't I scare them a bit…yeah, frighten them so they have a night to remember._" Misha finished his game rather quickly, then called out: "I sense intruders on this ground…they stand here watching us as I speak…they're standing in the entrance!" Everyone in that room turned to the entrance and saw the three of them standing there, all three being quickly surrounded by a sea of brown robes. Misha and Pegasus removed there head garments and hoods and smiled rather evilly at the three. Misha looked at the three of them and said, "Well, well, well…three little nosey people we have in our sights, what should we do with them M.P.?"

Tristen stepped forward and said, "I don't know what's going on here—?" Misha cut him off saying, "And it's best that you don't know…or me and my little friend here are going to get very angry." Misha at that moment pulled out a short sword from under his robe and pointed it at them." Misha looked back at Pegasus and said, "Come on M.P. just one quick little stab…I promise to make it quick." Pegasus replied, "Well seeing as they know now too much…I'd rather send their minds to the shadow realm than kill them in cold blood." Misha put the sword away and said, "Okay…that's fine I guess?"

Suddenly Misha saw a flash of golden light appeared before him and the others, Misha tried to see where the light was coming from. It was coming from the Millennium Ring; Misha then felt the spirit of the Bracelet trying to take over again. This time he let his guard down, Pegasus then yelled: "Misha…I sense a dark spirit in the Ring, take it from him!" Misha walked over to Bakura's side and muttered, "No." Pegasus then saw that the Spirit of the Bracelet had yet again showed itself to him, the spirit of the Millennium Ring looked at Misha and said: "Why are you choosing my side…I thought you worked for Pegasus?" Misha (or whoever he was for that matter) answered: "Misha works for that old fossil…I work for myself, after all…we're like business partners sort of, and we could help each other…for a fee?"

Pegasus then seeing what this spirit was planning, decided to try and banish Misha's body to the Shadow Realm. The new Misha gave Pegasus a sharp look and said, "Don't even try it!" Pegasus then went flying through the air and landed in the middle of the room. 

Misha looked at Bakura and asked, "Erase their memories?"

Bakura replied, "I don't see why not."

Suddenly the golden light filled the rest of the room, the only thing that could be heard was Misha and Bakura chorusing: "Erase their memories of this night…erase them all!"

Misha suddenly woke up as if from a deep sleep…funny thing is he had no memory of what had just happened. He remembered a gold light and that was it. Misha said, "Well…best I get back to sleep, don't want to be all groggy for tomorrow.

***

Well there you go again for now (AGAIN I BEG FOR SOME REVIEWS).


	12. Chapter 11: Misha's Gambit Part I

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Chapter 11: Misha's Gambit (Part 1)

To make this chapter shorter than it would normally be…Misha just sat and watched the finals blaze by, this was SO dull to him. He wanted to be part of the action, watching just seemed like a waste of time…but then he remembered what he used to do back home. Whenever a new challenger entered the loop, he'd watch the new opposition in action…try to learn what possible combinations this person would use so he'd be ready when the time was right, and about 70% of the time…this strategy worked for him.

Misha watched every strategy they could come up with, trying to see any possible flaws in them. Eventually when the final two rolled around Misha, kept an eye on this battle. Whoever the winner of this duel was would have one more surprise waiting for him before the end, Misha wasn't surprise that the final two were Yugi and Joey for he had expected the very best from both of them. Just then Misha caught a glimpse of the Millennium Puzzle, he couldn't take his eyes off it…there was something about it that just made Misha's blood run cold. Misha finally looked away from it and turned back to the field and the duel at hand. But then the thought of the puzzle came back to mind, what was this power that drove this sort of obsession through his head? He could only guess it was the spirit of the Bracelet…but why would it be obsessing over one small item of jewelry?

Misha kept watching the duel turn after turn after turn, When Misha saw Joey used his Time Wizard on the Dark Magician Misha thought to himself, "_Big mistake Mr. Wheeler…Though your Time Wizard will age the Dark Magician beyond his years…it will also create a new monster, one with an ability that seems unfair. But, in truth…it is very fair._"

And Misha was correct…Joey's move had transformed the Dark Magician into the Dark Sage, and its ability was that you could play a magic card, even when it was your opponents turn. "This duel is over…a 'no contest' scenario." Misha muttered to himself, and wouldn't he be right. When the duel was over Yugi had beaten his own friend, Misha then stood up and raised his flask to him them saying, "Excellent, very well fought…Joey I thought you played very well, and as for you Yugi…I expected nothing less cunning than that, but you have one more opponent you must face before you can face Master Pegasus. He's quite a handsome devil to tell you the truth…and in this tournament, quite undefeated. Can you guess who he is?"

Yugi looked lost in thought…and in response just shrugged.

Misha asked, "You give up? Well then…I'll tell you. IT IS ME!" Everyone looked in shock of Misha's response, Misha continued: "Yes, I…the talented duelist Misha challenge you to a duel! Our match begins in 22 hours…I'd suggest you be on time, I don't accept tardiness!" And with that he up and left the balcony.

When back in his room, Misha took a deep sigh and said: "I can't believe I said that…Misha people like you are all the same, they act before they think." Suddenly the spirit of the Bracelet appeared in front of Misha and said, "I couldn't have put it better myself, but just in case…I will duel in your place, if you need me."

Misha looked at the spirit and said, "After all the stunts you pulled in the past with my body? But then again I may have no choice…okay, but I want to be mentally aware of what you're doing every step of the way. But now comes my question, why are you so anxious to duel Yugi?" The spirit quickly answered, "Because Yugi wasn't the one dueling against Joey." Misha looked puzzled at first, the spirit continued: "What I mean to say is that Yugi was dueling in the physical sense, but in the spiritual sense…it was not him, but somebody else. I sensed this and felt as if I had sensed this person before."

Misha then asked, "Then why didn't the S.O.B sense your presence in the arena?"

The spirit answered, "I think he did…the truth is he does not remember who I am, sad to say but though I sensed him…I can't recall where or when I met him, but if both of us are aware of each other. Then it is safe to say that whoever this spirit is will warn our next opponent of our power and try to defend him against it." Misha just took a swig from his flask and said, "Well then…If this spirit is as good as he thinks he is, I'm going to pull out my best arsenal on him."

Misha removed from one of his pockets five cards, each was in a casing that had a skull and crossed swords on it. Misha looked at them and said these three should help me most graciously, these two I'll save for another day." The spirit looked at them, pointing to the one in the middle he said: "I hope you have the right card for that one." Misha nodded and said, "Indeed I do, Yugi…as talented as he is…could not in 5,000 years see this monster coming his way." The spirit looked at Misha with a look of slight disappointment and said, "For your sake and mine…you better be right."

Later that night Misha quietly exited of his room and went to the courtyard of the castle, he sat down nest to the fountain and looked up at the stars. Misha looked at them and thought to himself, "_It must be simple being a star, way up there in the sky…no worries and all._" Misha suddenly heard the sound of footsteps, Misha whispered: "Who's there?" No response, he whispered again: "whose there…identify yourself this instant!" When the stranger came into visual range Misha wasn't very surprised to see Yugi. Misha looked at him and said, "You should be in bed you know." Yugi replied, "Well I could say the same for you? I guess both of us can't sleep huh." Misha nodded and said, "Yeah, I guess…tomorrow is a big day for the two of us, I just want you to know I'll be expecting no mercy from both of you…because we're going to show you no mercy as well." Yugi then asked "What do you mean by 'both of you' and 'we', because this isn't a tag team duel you know."

Misha smiled and said, "When I said 'both of you' I referred to 'you and the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle'…and when I said 'we' I referred to 'me and the spirit of my item, the Millennium Bracelet'." Misha then revealed his bracelet to Yugi and said, "We're going to do whatever it takes to win…understand, **whatever** it takes…so expect the unexpected from us." Misha then got back to his feet and made his way back to his room. Misha was able to at least get a good-sized dose of rest.

When Misha woke up he looked at his watch; it was 7 in the morning, "3 hours and counting." He mumbled to himself, slowly getting out of bed and getting his clothes on, Misha knew this was a defining moment for him…that this duel was going to be the one that would tell him he was the best…or if there was still some room for improvement. As he washed up he looked in the mirror and started rallying himself with a little reflection talk, "You think you're going to beat me? You think you're going to beat ME with that monster?! Well, okay…it's just that I had this on the field TRAP HOLE! BYE-BYE, S-S-S-SUC-S-SUCKER!" Suddenly the spirit of the Bracelet appeared behind him and said, "Don't get too cocky…you haven't won yet." Misha gave him a look of annoyance and said, "You've never been to a pep-rally so I'm giving you a pass…but I'm trying to build up my confidence, trying to bring up that extra courage I'll need for this match!" Misha then left his room and made his way for the Dining Hall.

Misha looked at his watch and said, "One hour to go…then we'll see who's the best." Finishing his French Toast he didn't even hear Yugi and his friends enter the room, Misha stood up and walked past them. Just before leaving he looked at his watch and said, "55 minutes…that's how much time you have to eat breakfast and get down to the arena."

Joey then said, "Misha…hope you have a rabbits' foot with ya, because you'll need all the luck you can get."

Misha turned around and gave Joey a rather dark looking stare and said, "Oh is that so, well then Joey…I hope you know coming from my personal experience I only acted that confident and macho once…and I lost a very rare card because of it. So I'd be extremely careful of what you say…it just might jinx your friend."

Misha went down to the arena early and looked at the other side, wouldn't be long now…soon he'd be dueling to reclaim his once faded glory. And with the spirit of the Bracelet on his side, how could he lose…he pondered what monsters his opponent might use…then thought of all the possible combinations a person could use with that monster. He finally came up with a list of what moves to expect from Yugi and how to counter them.

Well with all the time this took, he looked at his watch and saw that it would be only 3 more minutes until 'go time' so to speak. He saw both balconies fill with their spectators, Yugi's friends on the balcony to the right. And Master Pegasus on the balcony to the left, Misha waited patiently for his opponent to appear on the other side of the arena. And he didn't have long to wait…for through the door appeared a very stern faced Yugi.

Misha smiled and said, "Yugi…or is the Spirit of the Puzzle of whom I speak to? Well, which ever one you are…I just want you to meet a little friend of mine." Just then Misha revealed his bracelet and a crimson light flooded the room, when it subsided Misha looked at Yugi and said: "Bet you weren't expecting me were you…yet again maybe you have, I'm dueling in Misha's spot…but don't think that he'll be absent." Yugi nodded and said, "Yes, but just because you and Misha are working together…doesn't mean you'll win."

Misha (or the Spirit of the Bracelet for that matter)said, "Okay…now are we here to duel, or just talk all day?" Misha shuffled his own deck and said, "There…don't shuffle yours, for I have a prediction that your first draw will be rather useless to you. But as a gesture of good faith, I'll let you go first." Suddenly the real Misha said, "Yeah, you're right…there is something different about Yugi, that must be the spirit of the Puzzle."

Misha didn't have to wait long for Yugi's first move was Celtic Guardian in attack mode, he also put two cards face down. Misha looked at his hand and said, "That's a good opener Yugi…but unfortunately, it will not save you for long. I play Giga-Tech Wolf in attack mode, and I play three cards face down and end my turn.

Yugi looked at Misha's side of the field, he guessed that maybe a couple of Misha's face down cards were traps…but he had to get rid of Misha's monster, which he did…Misha didn't even flinch, he didn't even go for his face down cards, he just watched his Life Points go from 2000 to 1850. It was Misha's turn again, he drew a card. A smile curled up on his face as it was one of the 'skull and crossed swords' cased cards, Yugi looked at it and asked, "What's that?"

Misha responded by saying: "Just know that for the moment it is one of the three cards in my deck that will be writing your will and testament in the dueling world. But for now I play Guardian of the Throne Room in attack mode, and if you attack this monster it will be your gravest mistake." 

Yugi thought to himself: "_Misha's either the worst at playing bluff…or he's still got something up his sleeve? With that many Life Points, I'd better come up with something fast!_" Yugi drew his next card and said, "This duel may not even take long, for I play the Dark Magician in attack mode, and I'll have him attack your Guardian of the Throne Room."

As Misha's Life Points went from 1850 to 1000 he sighed and said, "Tried to warn you for I now play my three face down cards, Michizure, Numinous Healer, and Attack and Receive! Now what Michizure does is when one of my monsters is destroyed I can take one of your monsters with it, so first I'll eliminate your Dark Magician. Then we come to the Numinous Healer, what this card does is when I take Life Point damage it increases my Life Points by 1000…so I'm back up to 2000 and we're tied. But alas we come to Attack and Receive, what it does is anytime I take Life Point damage it deals a direct 700 damage to your Life Points. So I'm afraid I'm in the lead now."

Yugi looked at Misha and thought to himself, " _I can't believe in one turn Misha was able to change the tide of the duel…I better find a way to change the tide again, otherwise this duel is over._"

Misha looked at Yugi's facial expression and thought to himself, "_Yes my young friend feel your hope diminish, for now I'm ready to play one of my cards of death, you saw it when I put in my hand…now with your Dark Magician in the graveyard, this would be the perfect time to play it._"

***

There you go, Sorry but I had to make it a cliffhanger…what card could Misha have in his hand? You'll have to wait until part two (DO I HAVE TO KEEP ASKING FOR REVIEWS).


	13. Chapter 12: Misha's Gambit Part 2

**Chapter 12: Misha's Gambit (Part 2)**

Yugi looked at Misha, there was something familiar about this person…but what? Misha started giving an impatient look and said, "Come on we haven't got all day you know, если бы я знал, что он собирался брать это, долго я принес бы газету или кое-что, чтобы читать." Pegasus then looked at Misha and said, "Patients Misha boy, that at this moment would be a virtue." Misha just gave an slightly irritated look and grumbled, "Я покажу Вам, куда я поместил бы ваши достоинства ... Вы старая ворона."

Yugi looked confused at what Misha had just said, Misha looked at Yugi and said, "Oh, that's right…you don't speak Russian do you? Then I'll try to stick to English if possible, have you decided your move yet…or will you pass this turn?" Yugi looked at his hand and said, "I'll play a monster in defense mode…and that ends my turn."

Misha looked rather amused by this, it almost seemed as if he'd been expecting Yugi to play a card in defense mode. Misha just gave Yugi a look of 'what a pity' and said, "What a shame, you didn't attack me when you had the chance…for now I play my Карта ГИБЕЛИ! Or for those who can't speak Russian my Card of DOOM! I play Dark Magician Girl in attack mode!" Yugi with a shocked look on his face said, "I didn't know you had that card!" Misha smirked and said, "Well I'm just full of surprises…and I think you know that Dark Magician Girl gets a 300 attack point boost for every Dark Magician in the Card Graveyard. Which boosts its attack strength to 2300, and I believe I'll have her attack your defense monster." Just then Misha's Dark Magician Girl attacked and destroyed Yugi's Giant Soldier of Stone. It was Yugi's turn, he drew his next card…and then a smile came on his face, Misha looked puzzled and asked: "Vhat are you smiling about? Vhat is so humorous to you?" Yugi looked at him and replied, "Cause I have a card combination that may end this duel rather quickly, first I play the magic card Makiu, the Magical Mist. Then I play Summon Skull in attack mode and I'll have him attack your Dark Magician Girl."

Misha gave out a half hearted laugh and said, "Is that it…you're going to inflict 200 Life Point damage on me, you're pathetic Mr. Moto." Yugi then said, "Oh I'm doing a lot more damage than that Misha, look closer." Misha then looked at the field and then saw what Yugi was talking about and in a rather scared voice said, "The mist…it's everywhere, and my Dark Magician Girl is soaked…and since Summon Skull uses electrical attacks (_gasp_)?!" Misha could only watch as his Dark Magician Girl was destroyed and his Life Points went down from 2000 to 800.

"Wait a go Yugi…show that Misha who the real duelist is!" Joey cheered, so all of Yugi's friends started cheering for him. Misha was hearing this, a vein on his forehead started to pulsate. Finally Misha was so irritated with them that he whipped his head around to look at the balcony and in a furious voice shouted, "SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP! HE HASN'T WON YET I STILL HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN, THIS DUEL ISN'T OVER YET!!!"

Tristen then shouted out, "Doesn't look like it from where we're standing!" All the others (Excluding Misha, Yugi, and Pegasus) started to laugh, Misha then felt a surge of anger rush to his bracelet, he then thrust his arm out in Tristen's direction, and from the bracelet came a sphere of red light. The sphere hit Tristen squarely in the chest and disappeared into the wind, and hit him with such force that he was flat on the ground in a few seconds. Tèa, Joey, and Bakura all looked down at Tristen, then back at Misha. With a crazed look in his eyes Misha yelled: "ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY SMART ANSWERS!?" They remained silent, Misha then seemed to simmer down a bit and said, "Это хорошо…That's good," he then turned back to Yugi and continued, "Now where were we? Oh that's right…It's my turn." Misha drew a card and said, "Looks like this game just got a bit interesting, I play Barrel Dragon in attack mode…I also use it's special ability, here's the coin…now let's see if luck is on your side Mr. Moto…or against you." Misha flipped the coin, it landed on Tails…Misha flipped the coin again, it landed on Heads this time. Misha prepared to flip the coin one more time; they all watched it flip in midair. Misha shut his eyes…he didn't want to look, when he heard the ping and the sound of it falling to one side. Misha opened his eyes and looked at it…it was Heads, he then used the ability to destroy Yugi's Summon Skull, and to top it off Misha played Final Flame, the score now being 800 to 700.

Misha's head was looking down, but suddenly there came a muffled noise from him that Yugi thought that Misha was crying…but when Misha brought his head back up Yugi saw that Misha was laughing, that crazed look still in his eyes. Misha said, "I can't lose…I won't lose, not to the likes of a duelist like you…I will defeat you even if it kills me!"

Yugi played Swords of Revealing Light, which would keep Misha from attacking for 3 turns. Misha just passed his turns as Yugi and him drew their cards, on the last turn before the swords wore off, Yugi played three cards down. Misha said, "Is that it? Is that all you got…alright then, my turn. Barrel Dragon attack his dear guardian!" But Yugi countered with Spell-Binding Circle, and on his turn he played Monster Reborn and brought back Misha's Dark Magician Girl, and to top it off he also played Book of the Secret Arts. Which boosted her attack strength to 2600, at this point it's pretty fair to say that Misha lost.

Misha just stood there dumbfounded, then with a furious look in his eyes picked up his cards and stomped out of the arena.

Later that day Yugi returned to his room to find a card and letter on his bed, he looked at the card and saw it was Misha's Dark Magician Girl! Then he looked at the letter, it read:

Dear Yugi, 

Эта карта, которую я даю Вам из моей собственной доброй воли ..., берет хорошую заботу(осторожность) об этом, или иначе!

In translation: This card I give to you out of my own free will...take good care of it, or else!

Sincerely,

Misha

Yugi knew in his heart that he hadn't seen the last of Misha, he knew in his heart that they'd meet again…but why did Yugi suddenly get the feeling that there was more to that bracelet of Misha's than met the eye? He decided he'd figure that out later, he match with Pegasus was up next.


	14. Chapter 13: The Bracelet's Revelation

**Chapter 13: The Bracelet's Revelation**

Misha stayed in his room, still a little pissed off about losing to that Yugi kid…sometimes he would just sit on his bed and stare at the door, half expecting some of Pegasus' goons to bust in and take him to the dungeon below the castle. That's when he remembered that Kaiba's brother was still down there…he'd made a promise to Seto that he would help him reunite his brother with him by freeing him, and now considering that he had failed Pegasus it would be a half willed assumption that he (that is Misha) was a free agent and he didn't have to take anyone's orders but his own. As he looked in the mirror he said to himself, "Я сделал обещание конкуренту, что я буду видеть его брата к безопасности ..., и это - то, что я сделаю, независимо от того что трахающийся случается со мной или случился со мной впоследствии!" (translation: "I made a promise to a rival that I'd see his brother to safety ... and that's what I'll do, no matter what the fuck happens to me or becomes of me afterwards!") Misha then exited his room and made a mad dash for the dungeon area, there he found Mokuba's cell…his soulless body still inside it. Misha then thought, "_All I have to do is find the key and that's that_."

Misha then heard the sound of someone coming down the hall, at first he thought that it might be one of the security guards…he hid himself behind the corner of the hallway, That's when Misha heard a somewhat familiar voice say, "Okay…there's the kid, now to get you out of here." Misha then realized that it wasn't a security guard, it was Tristen! Misha stopped hiding and said, "Mr. Tristen…nice to see you again, and up again so soon after my little rage sphere? Oh the wonders of human recovery."

Tristen looked ready to fight Misha, but Misha walked over to the cell door…took the key and opened it saying, "You want to get him out of here…here you go the door is open." Tristen lifted Mokuba onto his back, but he never took his eyes off Misha for a second for he felt certain that as soon as he looked away Misha would close the door and lock both of them in there. But Misha held the door open all that time and closed it as soon as they were out, Tristen then looked at Misha and asked, "I thought you were Pegasus' assistant, why the sudden change in heart?" Misha smiled and replied, "Давайте только говорить, что я не даю трахающийся, какой Pegasus думает больше." Tristen didn't even ask what that meant, he was just glad that Misha was on their side for once, suddenly Misha said, "Look we don't have much time, security will be down here any moment…best I lead you out, follow me and I'll show you a secret way out. Stick close to me and keep up, or this rescue mission will have been forfeit." Tristen did just as Misha said, and it wasn't long before security found them. Misha and Tristen started running. Misha seemed more inclined to get away from the guards than show Tristen his way out, because soon the hall was a dead end. Both of them trapped like rats, "Well this is a fine spot you lead us to.", said Tristen in a stern tone, Misha replied: "Hey my plan was to escape those muscle heads first then show you the way out, Geez ... Вы делаете кое-что хорошее для кого - то, и они действуют подобно этому, что когда-либо случалось с благодарностью!"

The guards caught up and demanded that they hand over the kid immediately, Misha stepped forward and said, "The only way you're getting that kid, is by bashing our heads open like зрелые дыни!" Misha then put Tristen in a head lock; the guards actually looked pleased at what Misha had just said. Suddenly the sound of laughter came from behind the guards, suddenly from out of the darkness appeared Bakura. Bakura then used one of his cards to wrap a chain of some sort around the guards, Misha and Tristen didn't think twice…they took off almost instantly, Misha then said: "Follow me comrades this way hurry!"

Misha seemed to be leading them the way out this time, because whenever they went down the wrong hallway he said, "No, no, no, not that way." Or "That way would take longer, we must go this way…this way be much faster."

When Tristen saw a light at the end of the tunnel he was sure Misha had made good on his word, but when he saw that the door ended in a cliff drop. He grasped Misha by the throat and said, "Is this your way out of the castle, does it look like any of us can fly to you?!" Misha then said in a squeaky voice, "It used to be the way down into the forest below, I used it a multitude of times to get down to the island itself…мой друг Вы должны верить мне, я имел не, и я не подразумеваю НИКАКОГО намерения обмануть в соответствии с Вами!" Tristen then ordered furiously, "SPEAK ENGLISH!" Misha rephrased it and said, "I had no way of knowing that they tore it down, I'm sorry."

The guards finally caught up with them and demanded one more time that they return Mokuba right this moment, at this point Tristen and Misha looked ready to give up, Bakura on the other hand…gave them a stern look and said, "And what do you think you two are doing?!" Tristen replied, "Giving up…we can't win!"

Bakura then asked, "But who said that we've lost yet? Especially since we haven't used all our options…if you ask me, it's time we asked help from the Shadow Realm."

I won't get into the details of what happened to the guards, only which Bakura used the magic of his Millennium Ring to make them disappear, afterwards Tristen asked: "What did you do with them?"

Bakura looked at him and replied, "The same thing that will happen to you if you don't give me what I want."

Misha then said, "You're not that Bakura kid are you…so if I'm correct, which I no doubt am…then who are you really?" Bakura replied, "Let's just say that I'm a person in search for a new host."

"Well you're not taking my body over." Argued Tristen, Misha also put up the same.

Bakura said, "I don't want your bodies…I need one that does not have a free will at the moment." Tristen realizing what this meant said at a solemn note, "You want Mokuba don't you?" Bakura said, "So are you going to give him willing, or do I have to do to you what I did to those men just now?"

All the while Misha was watching this…he had had enough of this for one day, he quickly got behind Bakura and knocked him out. Tristen walked over to Misha and thanked him. Misha responded, "Don't mention—." Just then Misha came under some sort of trance, a pale light shone from the gem of the bracelet. Misha then muttered, "Мучитель принадлежит волшебнику, Дракон Неба принадлежит Фараону, Winged Дракон принадлежит мне, и когда все три объединены ..., тогда они должны показать их тайны к Вам." Tristen gave Misha a puzzled look then asked, "What the heck did you just say?"

The light became brighter, and Misha's feet rose about a 1.5 inches off the ground…he just hovered there and repeated in an airy whisper, "Мучитель принадлежит волшебнику, Дракон Неба принадлежит Фараону, Winged Дракон принадлежит мне, и когда все три объединены ..., тогда они должны показать их тайны к Вам." But this time another voice came booming out of Misha's mouth, it said: "_The Tormentor belongs to the sorcerer, the Sky Dragon belongs to the Pharaoh, the Winged Dragon belongs to me, and when all three are united ... then they shall reveal their secrets to thee_."

With that the light subsided and Misha collapsed to the ground unconscious. Tristen left him there; he already had too much to carry anyway…but he just couldn't shake what Misha just said, what did it mean anyway?


	15. Chapter 14: Misha's Escape

**Chapter 14: Misha's Escape**

Misha awoke and forced himself from all fours, he felt like he had just been hit by a semi-truck…he then looked at the Millennium Bracelet and thought, "_There's so much I don't know about this thing yet…But why, out of all the people in the world, **why **did it have to come into my possession_?"

Misha then looked at his watch and said, "I better get back to the arena…best not miss the end of a main event."

Misha then passed the stairs to Pegasus' Sanctuary…he then heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs, he turned and looked back. He saw Bakura; he was clutching something in his hand. "What were you doing up there, that area is off limits…you should know that by now." Misha yelled.

Bakura gave him an evil eyed look and said, "I don't need to explain myself to you mortal, I just wanted to get something that was up there…now if you excuse me, I'll be on my way."

Misha's face screwed up a bit; he'd never heard anyone talk to him like that before…more or less call him a mortal. "I'm sorry but I'm going to have to ask you to hand over to me whatever you're holding in your hand there?"

Bakura looked back at him and said, "I have a better idea…have you ever play a shadow game before?" Misha stayed silent. "I'm guessing by your sustained silence you haven't…well then this should be rather entertaining to see, I'll make you a deal…if you win I'll give you what I hold in my hand…but if I win, I get that bracelet you have around your wrist."

The spirit of the Bracelet then said, "_Misha let me take over from here, your body would barely withstand the power of what this person is requesting_." Misha then replied, "Okay, but I want you to be careful too…I only have this body here and it's non-refundable." The spirit of the Bracelet looked at Misha, "Was that supposed to be a joke?" it asked. Misha replied, "I know it's not funny…but I just don't want to die because of anything you did, okay."

The Spirit of the Bracelet took over Misha's body and asked, "So…are we going to duel here or just stand here until sunset?"

Suddenly a blue beam of light shot out of the Millennium Ring, the Bracelet shot out a beam of red light. Both beams connected, the Spirit of the Bracelet felt his legs buckle under him, as he fell to all fours he looked up at Bakura who'd seemed to barely budge at all. "Is this the best you've got?" Bakura taunted.

"You haven't seen anything yet!" The spirit replied, he suddenly staggered back to his feet and gave out a tremendous cry of pain. Bakura's eyes widened, he actually seemed scared, "This can't be…no one has that much power!"

Misha smiled and said, "Well you're meeting someone who does…looks like the tables have turned." A great blast of energy came between them, Bakura fell to all fours breathing heavily…Misha (the REAL Misha) walked over and opened Bakura's hand to see what his prize was, it was the Millennium Eye…Misha quickly picked it up and said, "You know, you still owe me one for this victory."

Bakura looked up, "But the Eye is your reward for this battle…I owe you nothing!" he argued. Misha smiled and shook his head, "This is just a fee for working with me my friend…now I'd suggest you get going, we wouldn't want your host's friends to see us together."

Misha then looked around and thought, "But I don't want them to see me either, I've got to get off this island…and I know the one way to do it."

Misha returned to the tunnels below the castle and said, "Okay…if I remember the way correctly, it should be left, left, right, straight for the next three corridors, another left…yep, here are the stairs." Misha went down and entered an underground cove, on the shore of the cove was a moor, and roped to the moor was a speed boat. Misha looked to make sure everything he would need was aboard (you know, food, life jackets, rescue flares, etc.) Misha untied the boat, started the engine. As he sped out of the cove entrance he looked back at the island, "_This is the last time I'm ever going to see this place_." He thought to himself, he then saw the speed boat's fuel gauge and saw he had only ¾ a full tank. Misha snorted and grumbled, "Thanks Pegasus…yeah thanks for screwing me over!"


	16. Chapter 15: Deep Understanding

_NOTE: Now this chapter is going to leave the Misha character for a bit._

**Chapter 15: Deep Understanding**

Well with the Duelist Kingdom Tournament over life for Yugi and friends had returned to its normal pace, well except for Kaiba issuing a $10,000 reward for anyone who had any information on Misha's whereabouts. But there was one thing that Yugi still couldn't shake from his mind, and that was Misha's Bracelet. He knew there was something familiar about it…but what?

"_Why is that bracelet so familiar to me? I mean I haven't seen it before in my life…but then why do I remember it_."

"Yugi…what's wrong?" The Spirit of the Puzzle asked, Yugi looked at him and answered, "I'm just thinking about that Bracelet Misha had, there's something familiar about it…but I can't figure out is what."

"I know, I've had the same feeling towards it too…but that along with my past remains a mystery. But one name keeps popping into my thoughts when I think about it, 'The Machine Empire'."

"The Machine Empire, sounds like something fierce." Yugi said.

"Seeing what Misha could do with that bracelet I don't doubt it, because since we saw it I have a strange feeling we're being watched…as if some evil eye is gazing upon us as we speak."

That night Yugi had probably one of the most frightening dreams in his life, he was in a stone tower of some make, standing in front of him was a person wearing a light blue trench coat, the person said, "Seek out Lukyan Dakarai, Yugi Moto…seek him out."

"Why, why should I seek him out?" Yugi asked the stranger.

As the person drifted away he called out, "Because he knows about it, he knows what it is."

Yugi awoke with a jolt, didn't know why he had this dream…but he knew one thing was for certain, he had to find this Lukyan Dakarai.

That morning Yugi checked the phone book, and to his surprise there was one Lukyan Dakarai in town…hoping this was the one he quickly wrote down the address. He then headed out the door.

When he got there he gave a knock on the door, a voice with a bit of a Russian accent to it yelled, "GO AWAY, I DON'T WANT WHATEVER YOU'RE SELLING…JUST LEAVE!"

"Um, I'm not supposing a Lukyan Dakarai lives here?" Yugi asked, suddenly the door opened and a voice from inside the house said, "Come in, I'm in the library…that's the room upstairs first door to your right."

Yugi entered the library; sitting in a chair facing the window was a man with black hair that was starting to grey. He wore a sort of formal attire. The man looked at Yugi and asked, "Okay kid, what's your story?"

"I just want to talk to you; it's about something you might know about." Yugi replied. Lukyan looked out the window and said, "I was an archeologist when I was in my prime young lad, I've been buried alive in abandoned kingdoms, bitten by snakes, and nearly eaten alive by wolves…you'll have to be more specific."

Yugi nodded and said, "Okay, let me rephrase what I just said…I need to know if you've heard of 'The Machine Empire'."

At that moment Lukyan gave Yugi a mixed look of being angry and terrified, "W-w-whe-where did y-y-y-yo-you hear that name?" Lukyan asked. Yugi shrugged and replied, "I don't know…but it sounds familiar to you."

Lukyan nodded and said, "33 years…that's how long it's been since I found it, since me and my team uncovered it…there's a story behind it, are you sure you want to hear it?"

Yugi nodded, Lukyan then closed the door to the library and said, "Okay…where to begin, where to begin…I think my story is in order now."

"_It began when we were studying a temple on the border of Egypt and Libya, we'd found writing on the wall dating back 5,000 years…it depicted that at the time of this writing, if we were to go west 70 more miles…we would come across the Machine Empire, or possibly it's ruins…well it took about a month, a month and a half. But six other archeologists and I had gotten clearance from the Libyan government to excavate an area of at least ten miles around the area where the writing had said to look, at first we knew that maybe we'd find the remains of this kingdom…but within a week we found a lot more…probably more than anyone was supposed to know._"

_"We found that this kingdom was more technologically advance than any around it's time, while the Egyptian Pharaohs and the Kings of Greece were still in the Stone Age and Bronze Age…The Machine Empire was already in the Iron Age, we found this out when we uncovered at least about 17 gears, one being the size of a large coffee table. It was incredible, but just incase we sent pieces of the gear to labs around the world for Carbon-14 dating, and wouldn't you believe it, the gears were over 5,000 years old. But that wasn't our most amazing discovery, the one that still baffles me is the discovery we made out on the edges of the site, at first we thought it looked like a cryo-genetics tube or something out of a science fiction novel. But when we dug deeper and uncovered the upper half of its body…we realized that we may've been up and over our heads._"

"Wait, our you telling me you found sort of creature buried in the sands?" Yugi asked, Lukyan nodded and said, "I still have a picture of it, and every time I look at it I still feel amazed." Lukyan pulled a box out of the desk that was in that room and took a picture from out of it, he then walked back over and handed it to Yugi, Yugi looked in amazement at the photo. Lukyan and a dozen other people we standing in front (and some were standing on) of what appeared to be the upper half of a Barrel Dragon. Lukyan looked at Yugi's amazed look and said, "Yes, that thing is real…I didn't believe it myself either 33 years ago, but if this kingdom was as advanced as it was I could imagine that they must've believed the sky was the limit." With that he continued his story.

"_But it wasn't until we had found another temple buried under some 20 feet of sand did we find out what this metallic creatures' purpose was, we found in the kingdoms' last recorded records that there had been a large battle 5,000 years ago against one of the Egyptian Pharaohs and the Count of the Machine Empire. But after the battle the rest of the records were destroyed, so we didn't know who had won or what losses they had suffered. But it got more interesting when we found out more about this 'Count'. We discovered that he had in his possession a few items of great magic and power…but the most powerful of these was actually a bracelet, which the Count wore on his wrist at all times."_

_"When we compared our notes with notes of other archeologists in __Egypt__, we found that if these items were ever reunited with the bracelet…it would unleash a wrath of darkness and chaos on a worldwide scale…then they started to happen._"

"They…what do you mean by _they_?" Yugi asked.

Lukyan continued: "_The day after a man came to our site, he was dressed as a swami, but spoke perfect English…he kept warning me and the other archeologists about this place, he kept telling us stuff like: "This place bears an curse, leave now while you still can." Or "Dare not disturb these ruins anymore my friend, or you will pay dearly."…when we didn't listen he looked back at us and said, "This place protects itself my friends, be careful for you our now in great danger."_"

"_Then accidents started to happen, equipment failures, rooms and other things collapsing on their own…and sandstorms that seemed to last for days on end, it was with that that we had to stop…after that we went our separate ways, but one of the archeologists…a man named Shakar Etharei took what would have probably made my story true._"

"What did Shakar take with him?" Yugi asked, Lukyan looked at him…then out the window as if he thought something was watching him, then said, "He found one of the Count's items, a circlet made of silver with the Counts' symbol on it. I think he's kept it to himself all these years…I'd have to call him some time."

"Well thanks for your time…I really should be going." Yugi said.

"Before you go, I wish to ask why you were so interested in my story." Lukyan asked.

"Because I think I might have seen the Bracelet of the Count." Yugi replied.

Lukyan's face suddenly went dark, "Then I am to give you a message to whoever bears it now, the Bracelet will call all the other items of its make to him…even now it calls them, it seeks them out…it is looking for them and whoever possesses them. Bearer be warned for the Bracelet is not only seeking out the items, but is seeking out and calling any evil, any darkness that might help it complete its task."

While walking home Yugi then started thinking about what Lukyan had said about the Bracelet, "_If what Dakarai said is true then where ever Misha is…that's where the items will follow_."

MEANWHILE, SOMEWHERE OUT AT SEA…

Misha had had just about enough of the ocean, he'd set up a rope as a fish line and had tied a bologna sandwich to the end that was in the water. "_Now I know how that old man in 'The Old Man and The Sea' felt._" Misha thought to himself, being stuck out there was not a pleasureable thought. He then saw something out on the ocean, just barely near the horizon…at first Misha thought that the ocean current had carried him back to Duelist Kingdom, but when he saw it was moving against the current he got up and danced around shouting, "A SHIP, A SHIP, A SHIP, OH THANK THE DIVINE I'M SAVED!" Misha then started hurrying around the boat as if looking for something, when he finally found what he was looking for he took out a flare gun and said, "Let's hope these flares still work." He fired one off, and slowly he saw the ship changing it's direction…heading for him. "YES, I'M SAVED!" Misha then started to do a bit of a belly dance going, "I'm finally going to get off this boat, maybe the crew will take me back to dry land." When the ship was about a hundred yards away, Misha saw a few guys in black robes standing at the bow of it looking down at him, "_If they don't kill me first._" He thought to himself, a scared look on his face.


	17. Chapter 16: A New Alliance

**Chapter 16: A New ****Alliance******

Misha paced around a rather dank room, "_Okay Misha…Let's try to remember what happened, they threw a rope ladder down, you went up. After that they dragged your sorry carcase into this room and locked the door from the outside._" He then gave a bitter sounding laugh and thought, "_Well Misha this is another fine mess you've gotten yourself into_."

Misha then put his ear up to the door and listened for any sounds, he could hear none…suddenly he heard the unlocking of the door, but had hardly anytime to react before getting knocked away. A man walked in with a plate of food and said, "Here you are." Misha dove head first into the plate, he didn't care what he was eating, because after having nothing but blonogna sandwiches for three days straight…anything will start looking good (at one point Misha almost committed suicide with the flare gun).

"Well you have a healthy appatite." The man commented, "_You don't know how hungry I really am._" Misha thought to himself while trying to hold back his laughter. "Master Marik will want to see you after your done, just knock and I will escort you." Misha gave a sigh and said, "What ever."

About ten minutes after he was finished Misha gave a knock on the door, it opened and Misha said, "Okay, let's get this over with."

The corridors were about as dark as his room had been, "_I cannot see how anyone could see anything in all this darkness_?" Misha thought to himself. _"Best be on your guard Misha…I sense that a Millennium Item is on this ship_._"_ Said the Spirit of the Bracelet, "Can you tell which one?" Misha asked under his breath. _"It's one of the Pharaohs' make, but I won't know which one until I see it."_

Suddenly the corridor gave away to a good sized room, Misha's eyes adjusted to the tourch light which bathed the room. He looked around and saw a throne of some metal in front of him, sitting on the throne was a man in a black robe holding a gold scepter across his lap. "You must be Marik, well I have to thank you for saving me back out there…I like the place, but may I suggest better lighting because I couldn't see a damn thing in that room your men stuffed me in." The man didn't say anything, Misha looked at his escort, he was bowing to the guy. "Nuh-uh, no way no how, Misha does not bow to anyone, and he means anyone."

"Is that so? Well then we'll see how strong your will is when I use my Millennium Rod to make you bow to me." Marik finally spoke, he held the rod out pointing the head of it at Misha.

Instantly Misha felt as if someone had stuck a rather powerful magnet under the floor and had placed metal sheets in his pants because he watched his legs bend he was down on one knee when the Spirit of the Bracelet said, _"Misha, you have to resist his will…use the power of the Bracelet to counter his magic, I know you can do it_._"_ Misha rolled up his left sleeve, revealing the Bracelet…his thoughts traveling at such a speed he thought he was about to go mad, he then remembered the invisible wall he'd been able to conjure with it. He turned the Bracelet to face Marik and immediately flattened out his hand, he suddenly felt the force lift a bit, but it was still pulling on him. "As I said, 'I don't bow to ANYONE'!" Misha then felt something extend itself out from inside the bracelet and put itself between him and Marik.

Marik let out a slight whimper and brought the Millennium Rod back down, Misha stood there rather haggard looking. Marik stood up from his throne and walked towards Misha, "What gives a person like you such resistance to my Shadow Magic? Who am I speaking to exactly?" Marik asked. Misha replied, "My name is Misha Léhneraë, eldest son of David and Susan."

Marik nodded and looked at Misha's left wrist, "And bearer of the Millennium Bracelet, not bad…may I ask how it came to be in your possession?"

"My aunt gave it to me as a gift." Misha replied. Marik nodded and walked away from him, only to look back upon him, "And do you know the history of that bracelet…where it came from and more likely whose was it before you came to wear it?" he asked, Misha shrugged.

"_Spirit buddy…do you know where this guy is going with this, because I don't._" Misha thought to himself, _"He is obviously speaking of a historical nature…but like you I do not know where he is going with this, it would suit us both if we just listened."_

Marik continued, "Your Bracelet is an item of great and horrific power, one of the four items of the Machine Empire…I'm pretty sure somewhere in the back of your mind that name seems familiar."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Misha replied, _"You don't Misha…but I do, that name sounds a little familiar…but I can't remember why. Keep listening Misha, perhaps when he finishes his lecture I'll understand a bit more_._"_ The Spirit of the Bracelet said, "Okay…but I'm not sure how long I can keep standing." Misha said under his breath.

"You're communicating with the Spirit that resides in the Bracelet, you should be flattered to meet such an ancient ruler such as Hagane." Marik said, a bit of a smile was on his lips. Misha looked at the Bracelet for a moment and said, "Hagane…That's a strange name, but one that would perhaps fit an ancient ruler."

Suddenly a flash of crimson light came from the Bracelet, Misha looked at Marik, "How do you know all this?" Suddenly a semi-translucent form of Misha appeared beside him, _"You could warn me you're going to do that next time, you know!"_ he argued. "Sorry Misha, but I do remember hearing the name Hagane…but I also remember other names, such as Cesar and Mussolini…but my surroundings were different those times."

"You are reffering of course to the Romans and Italians…yes, after the great war between you and the Pharaoh Yami. The survivors of that battle gave two of the Counts' Millennium Items to the Egyptian Viziers, one item had been thought to have been destroyed in the great war…but the Millennium Bracelet and it's bearer Count Hagane had caused so much suffering that they tossed it into the Mediterranean. Hoping it would sink to the bottom and out of the memories of its people."

Hagane looked down at the floor, "But then why is it here today, you said it sank to the bottom of the Mediterranean."

Marik continued, "It _should've_…but it did not, it floated on the surface of the water…without it's rightful bearer it could now seek to corrupt the minds of whoever possessed it. It kept floating until it reached the shores of the Roman Empire, it was no coincidence that it found it's way to Julius Cesar. But of this Mussolini you speak of I know not of him."

_"He might not…but I do, you must mean Benito Mussolini…the dictator of Italy during World War II, he must've found it."_ Misha finished, now realizing that some great rulers both good and evil, must've worn this Bracelet. "Yes, but what happened to them is still surprising to me." Hagane commented, Marik nodded and finished with, "That is because the Bracelet beckons its power to only one master, and it was waiting…waiting for the day its master would be born again to this world, for millennia it waited…until it found you, the one person who was to wield it's power."

_"Wait, how does he know that I'm its true master…there's got to be a test of some kind, some way to know for sure?" _Misha asked Hagane. "You're right I'll ask him," Hagane then asked, "Marik, Misha wishes to know if there is some sort of test that could prove your story?"

Marik replied, "On the back of the Bracelet should be an inscription…it is of the language of the Machine Empire, in English it reads: _'It is not for thee,'."_

_" 'It__ is for me to wield alone'…how did I know that?" _Misha asked himself.

Marik then said, "Now that you know that…perhaps it's time I made you an offer, I helped you off that boat of yours…so you do something for me in return." Hagane nodded and said, "I'm listening."

"I'm on a quest right now, but I could use all the help I could get…it involves obtaining a power greater than any Duel Monsters card you've ever had. There's a tournament to be held soon, and if you help me…I could grant you a great power, not as great as mine but close." Marik said, Hagane said, "Okay…but Misha says and I quote: 'with great power, comes great responsibility.' End quote."

Marik said, "I know, I'm just saying that if both you and your host help me I could make you a deity to the world, all would know the name Hagane again and scream in the wake of his wrath."

"I don't know, I'll need to think about it…" Hagane responded, _"As will I, but if he needs help…then maybe I can provide him some more hands."_ Hagane nodded and said, "Misha will need some time to think about it as well, but if you need help…he says he's got connections, he could call them when we get there."

"Understood, well…it's been a pleasure talking to you both, Odion will escort you to a much more comfortable location on the ship."

Misha turned around and saw a guy standing behind him, "Come with me." He said. Misha said, "You must be Odion, lead the way…_tally ho_."


	18. Chapter 17: Ancient Secret

**Chapter 17: Ancient Secret**

Misha had been given a room much more comfortable looking then the one he had been in recently; he collapsed on the bed and said to himself: "This Marik knows how to treat his allies; I just can't wait to know where we're going." Hagane appeared sitting on the side of the bed and said, _"Misha…don't be too care free, I sense many different things on this ship…Marik is hiding something from us, and if we don't find out what soon……it may be too late for us to back out of our deal with him_._"_

"And what exactly would you want to do?" Misha asked, sounding as if he was more interested in his own personal pleasures than what Hagane had to say. _"I want to you to sneak around tonight and find out what Marik is hiding_._"_

Misha gave an unconcerned look and said, "I'm not going to risk my ass just so we can find some sort of secret Marik has…if any!" Hagane gave a stern look and as he disappeared said, _"Fine…have it your way!"_ Misha suddenly jerked up into the sitting position, Misha looked frighteningly at himself and said, "What the hell is going on!?!" Misha then, as if by some invisible force, flung himself from the bed to the floor, from there his body started to military crawl across the floor to the door. "_What the трахнитесь_ _is going on with my body? It's as if I've lost all control of my movements_." Suddenly Hagane's voice came to him, it said, _"If you're not going to do this…then I'll make you!"_

"ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT ALREADY…I'll do it!" Misha finally cried out. Misha suddenly gained back the control of his limbs and asked himself, "Since when has Hagane been that powerful?"

Later that night Misha snuck out, his eyes adjusted to the darkness more quickly this time, he searched the whole entire floor which his room was on…finding nothing Misha said, "Well I guess this was a waste of my time…well time to go to bed." Misha suddenly felt something jerk him from behind; he looked back and saw that his own arm had subconsciously grabbed the corner of the wall.

_"You can't give up that easily Misha…I'm sensing that the power I seek is a floor or two below us, we must investigate further!"_ Hagane argued. Misha rolled his eyes and said, "Okay." In his mind he thought, "_Hagane's going to be the death of me._"

Misha made careful not to draw any attention to him as he made his way to the lower floors, about two floors down Hagane said, _"Misha…we're close now, be very cautious for this area might be well guarded."_

"No, really, you think!?" Misha snapped, lack of sleep starting to take its toll.

Misha then peeked over the corner of a hallway; two dark robed men were standing in front of a door. Misha snapped his fingers quietly and said, "Ah well, can't say we didn't try." But Hagane grabbed hold of the corner and said, _"Yes, we didn't try…I can tap into the Bracelet's power to freeze the personal time of those guards, when I start it up again the hallway will still be empty and we'll be on the other side of that door."_

The Bracelet gave a faint shimmer of light, after that all was silent.

_"Well, what are you waiting for…get a move on!" _Hagane ordered, Misha walked up and stopped at one of the robed men, he waved his hand in front of them. "_Well that was simple…now to see what's behind door number one_."

Misha stepped through, the room was pitch black. _"I will provide light for us to see Misha…perhaps we'll be able to find what we're looking for."_ The Bracelet lit up with a crimson light, Misha saw a glass case in the center of the room…he walked up to it, inside was a card. Misha held the light of the Bracelet closer so he could make it out; it was a Dragon of some sort. But with 0 ATK & DEF points, "_Now why would anyone one keep a loser card like that in a glass case?_" Misha thought to himself, suddenly Misha could hear Hagane saying, _"'The Winged Dragon belongs to me, and when all three are united, they shall reveal their secrets to thee.'."_

Misha then saw his left hand reaching for it, he tried to pull it back…but he realized Hagane had taken control of it. "_Hagane wait, Hagane don't touch it…Hello, Misha to Hagane can you hear me?_"

Suddenly Misha's hand jerked back, _"I'm deeply sorry Misha…I don't know what came over me, I just felt that card calling to me…and that I wanted to have it."_

"What, that pathetic excuse for a level 10 creat—A LEVEL TEN, HOLY COW!!!" Misha blurted out, _"That is no ordinary monster Misha, I'm very sure of it." _Hagane explained.

Suddenly the bottom of the case lit up, Misha shielded his eyes from the light…when they adjusted Misha could at first only see streaks of color before his eyes. "I knew you'd be down here, so…have you figured out what you just saw?" said Marik. Misha was still blinking but responded, "Well, it's a Duel Monsters card…Dragon variety, but to give it a level of ten and no ATK or DEF points is just nonsense."

"That's because you need to sacrifice lower level Monsters to give it ATK and DEF points, it's a monster known as the Winged Dragon of Ra…one of the three Egyptian God Monsters." Marik explained.

Misha looked at it and noticed that it's picture did give it sort of a god-like appearance, "And where exactly are the other two?" Misha asked. "The other two are at already on the main land ready for a tournament known as Battle City…one is still in my possession, the other is in the hands of another." Marik replied.

_"Misha…when we arrive in __Battle__City__, we must do all we can to get at those cards…I feel that for the first time I have a goal in this life."_ Hagane told Misha.

"_Yeah, well easier said than done Hagane…because if these cards are as powerful as Marik says, then the duelists who possess them are going to be near impossible to beat!_" Misha argued, _"Don't you mean 'improbable'…because as far as I've seen, your deck makes the impossible seem possible."_ Hagane argued back.

Misha finally asked, "Okay…and what exactly is my role in all this?"

Marik stared at Misha from the corner of his eye and replied, "I want you to help me obtain the other two Egyptian God cards…you'll have the aid of my servants, but you'll have to win your own Egyptian God monster…for this one is mine." Marik told him, Misha gave a hand gesture of 'no worries' and said, "Don't worry about that…I know the one I want already."

Walking away he thought to himself, "_And I know the group that'll help me achieve that…My Elite Five_."


	19. Chapter 18: Contacting a Friend

**Chapter 18: Contacting a Friend**

Two days passed, still nothing but blue ocean…Marik had given Misha a duel disk earlier on, Misha had given his thanks and told Marik that if he needed him he'd be out on deck…watching the ocean.

"_When am I going to get to dry land again…it seems as if we've been going in circles_!" Misha thought to himself.

_"We have not Misha…we're on course to go somewhere, I can feel it in my heart."_ Said Hagane.

"Yeah…guess you're right, but still I wish I had a friend…_oh crud_, I forgot!" Misha exclaimed, he then took out his cell phone…he looked at it for a moment, "No…wouldn't be any use, there's not an antennae for miles." Then he looked at the Bracelet and thought, "_I wonder?_"

Misha concentrated the Bracelet's power into the cell phone, and sure enough he got a signal…he wasted in no time in dialing a number. "_Please pick up, please pick up…_" Misha begged, just then he heard a familiar voice say: "Jurkis residents…may I ask whose calling?"

"Erich…it's me Misha." Misha said to Erich, "Misha…I haven't heard from you in a while." Erich said back.

"Okay…let's cut the small talk, I need a favor done." Said Misha, Erich responded with, "I can't right now…me, Brandon W., Zach, Troy, and Johnny have received invites to this duelist tournament happening in a week."

"Good, because that's where I'm going too…listen, when you get there…go down to the docks, you'll see me there and I'll explain more." Said Misha.

"Okay…I guess, see you there…and don't be pulling our leg!" Erich finished and hung up.

"_Don't worry…I'm not and I won't._" Misha thought to himself.


	20. Chapter 19: Meeting of the Elite Five

**Chapter 19:  Meeting of the Elite Five**

Well a week passed, Misha finally saw a city ahead of the ship…when he reached the port he quickly ran off the ship, Marik watched this and thought, "_What did I get myself into_."

Misha then saw five people standing just a few feet from him, "Well Misha…long time no see, you've seemed to be doing very well?" said one of them, Misha looked at them and said, "So what are you waiting for…you going to say hello to an old friend again?"

Soon they all advanced upon them and laughed, a few of them traded stories about what happened while Misha was away at Duelist Kingdom…Marik then stepped in, "Misha…who are these people?" he asked, sounding a little ticked off. Misha turned around and said, "These are my friends…Troy, Brandon, Zach, Erich, and Johnny. Together they're my _Elite Five_…for they have mastered their decks and may I say are rather difficult to defeat."

"Really…well would you like to pit that against one of my Rare Hunters?" Marik asked. Misha said, "Why not…show us the opponent and my one of my friends will defeat him."

Just then a man wearing a black robe appeared out of nowhere, Misha and the crew looked at him, "So who wants to have the chance to show this lightweight your skill?" Misha asked.

"I'll go for it." said Troy. "Okay…it's your Rare Hunter vs. Troy."

"Buddy…in the first few turns you'll be begging to forfeit." Taunted Troy, the Rare Hunter laughed and said, "That has yet to be seen."

"_IT'S TIME TO DUEL!_" both of them shouted and the duel was underway.

Troy looked at his cards and said, "I play three cards face down, and place a monster in defense mode and end my turn…your move."

The Rare Hunter looked at his hand and said, "I play a card face down, and summon Aqua Madoor [1200/2000] in attack mode…and I'll have him attack your face down monster."

Troy just shook his head and said, "I guess great minds do think alike, because my face down monster was also Aqua Madoor…and since it has a defense of 2000, you lose 800 life points.

The Rare Hunter watched his Life Points drop from 4000 to 3200, "What's wrong…don't tell me you're going to quit now?" Troy asked in a mocking tone, "Don't get cocky Troy…you have no idea what this guy may have up his sleeve." Misha called out in a stern tone. Troy gave Misha an 'okay' and made his move, "I play Neo the Magic Swordsman [1700/1000] in attack mode, oh…and I play two more cards face down and reveal one of the ones I put down earlier, say hello to the Magic card Hinotama." Suddenly a barrage of fireballs came down on the Rare Hunter, whose Life Points again decreased from 3200 to 2700. "I also reveal a Trap Card known as Robbin' Goblin…and that's it, you're move."

The Rare Hunter smirked, "You should've attacked me when you had the chance…because now I play my face down card Malevolent Nuzzler to increase my Aqua Madoor's ATK power to 1900…then I'll have it attack your Swordsman, Aqua Madoor attack the Magic Swordsman now!" Troy watched as his Swordsman was swept away by a wall of water and as his Life Points went from 4000 to 3800.

"Why didn't your friend use any of his face down cards…he doesn't seem that skilled to me if he doesn't realize they're there." Marik asked Misha, "He's just waiting for the appropriate moment to use those cards, we gave him a nickname back where I come from: 'instinct'…because he could sort of sense when a big play was going to come from his opponent, and that instinct of his is right about 70% of the time."

"Okay buddy…you destroyed my Swordsman…now I'm mad." Troy drew another card and said, "I play a monster in defense mode and end my turn." The Rare Hunter laughed and drew a card, "I'll play three cards face down and have my Aqua Madoor attack your face down monster!"

Troy smiled and said, "Oh, so sorry to disappoint you…but you just attacked Hiro's Shadow Scout, and this monster has a special ability…draw three cards and show them to me." The Rare Hunter did as Troy asked, "Okay now those two Magic cards have to go to the Graveyard…due to Shadow Scout's affect."

"You got lucky!" snapped the Rare Hunter. "Luck had nothing to do with it buddy… (Draws a card) but perhaps my next turn will make it look that way. I play a monster face down and flip up another face down card…here comes Toll, now when we have a monster attack we have to pay 500 Life Points to do so…your move."

The Rare Hunter drew his card and said, "Okay…I know I may have to pay 500 Life Points, but it'll be well worth it when the time comes. Now I'll have Aqua Madoor attack your face down monster!"

Troy shook his head, "You just don't learn, do you…in fact, I was hoping you'd attack it." Just then a worm like creature appeared in front of Aqua Madoor and attached itself to him, "What the heck is that thing?" The Rare Hunter asked. Troy shook his head in disgust and said, "That would be Kiseitai [300/800], when it's attacked face down it attaches itself to the attacker, and during your Standby Phase I'll gain Life Points equal to half the equipped monster's attack points."

"So by my Standby Phase you'll gain 950 Life Points, not bad…you're a more worthy opponent than I took you for." Said the Rare Hunter.

Rare Hunter LP-2200

Troy LP-3800

Troy drew another card and said, "Okay…I guess I have no choice but to play this now, reveal face down card Tremendous Fire!" Suddenly a torrent of flames engulfed them both, the Rare Hunter's Life Points decreased to 1200, and Troy's decreased to 3300. The Rare Hunter looked at Troy and smiled, "I don't believe you meant to play that card." Troy shrugged, "By Standby…I'll be gaining that 500 back and then some, so this ends my turn…your move."

The Rare Hunter drew a card and watched as Troy's LP went to 4250, "Okay boy…prepare to meet your end, I reveal a face down card Shadow of Eyes. This Trap card will put your Aqua Madoor into attack mode, and now I'll have my Aqua Madoor attack yours…but that's not all, I'll also play a face down Magic card called Hinotama."

Troy watched as his Aqua Madoor was destroyed and as a barrage of fireballs came sailing at him, Life Points at 3050 Troy said, "Yeah I may be down 1200 LP, but it's not even going to compare to the 700 LP you just reduced yourself too." The Rare Hunter shrugged and said, "That's why I also play the Magic card Dian Keto the Cure Master to bring me up to 1700 Life points, your move Troy."

"_Okay…I know what that face down monster is, it was the same one that survived Shadow Scout's affect_, _I may loose 500 Life Points in the process…but I'll have to risk it_." Troy thought to himself.

"Come on we haven't got all day!" complained the Rare Hunter.

"Okay…in that case I'll play Koumori Dragon [1500/1200] in attack mode, and have it attack your face down monster." Troy watched as his Life Points fell to 2550.

The Rare Hunter smiled, "Ha…you attacked my Big Eye, and with it's affect I get to see the next five cards in my deck and arrange them anyway I choose, I knew you'd slip up somewhere."

"Okay then I'll lay one more card face down and end my turn…but I warn you, this duel will soon be over." Troy replied back with a smile on his face. The Rare Hunter drew a card and watched Troy's LP go up to 3500, "Okay…I'll sacrifice my Aqua Madoor to summon Rude Kaiser [1800/1600] in attack mode, then I'll have it attack your Koumori Dragon…I also play one card face down and end my turn."

Rare Hunter LP-1200

Troy LP-3200

Troy drew a card and said, "I'll play a monster face down defense and reveal one of my face down cards…say hello to Exchange, this card allows me to take one card from your hand and you'll get a card from mine, but since I'm in a generous mode…I'll let you pick first." Troy showed the Rare Hunter his hand, The Rare Hunter chose Hyozanryu [2100/2800]. "Okay…now show me your hand." Troy looked and picked Enchanted Javelin. "Let's see what happens when I take this."

"Troy remember what I said, DON'T get cocky!" Misha hollered at him, Troy looked at his friend and rolled his eyes. "HEY, HEY…don't you do that to me, I don't know what you're planning to do Troy…but don't let your pride consume you." Misha looked down on the field and thought, "_Hmm…out of all the face down cards he's played, he hasn't even touched that one yet. Which means either he's forgotten about it…or he's waiting for something BIG to come along_."

Troy played another card face down and said, "Okay Hunter…your turn, but next turn I'm going all out on you."

The Rare Hunter drew another card and said, "I play Armored Lizard [1500/1200] in attack mode, and I think I'll have it attack your face down monster."

Troy shook his head and said, "They know they see it coming, yet when it's time you swear that it takes them by surprise…activate face down Trap card Mirror Force." The Rare hunter watched as his monster destroyed itself and as his Life Points fell to 700, he looked at Troy and said, "Okay…in that case I'll play another Dian Keto and bring my Life Points back to 1700, your move Troy."

Troy drew his card and played Mystical Elf [600/2000] in defense mode; he also played another card face down and ended his turn. Now the Rare Hunter realized that Troy had placed Enchanted Javelin on the field…so he withheld from attacking. Troy drew one more card and said, "You know…you should've attacked me when you had the chance. Because now I reveal my other face down monster…Spirit of the Harp, oh but that's not why you should've attacked…oh no n-n-n-n-no. The reason why is because I had an ace up my sleeve." Troy pointed to one of the face down cards on the field, "Now if you remember that card has been down on the field since first turn, I haven't played it because I didn't have the right card in my hand to go with it. But now is the time to reveal that card say hello to the ritual card, form ably known as Cosmo Queen's Prayer."

Troy then put both monster cards in the Graveyard and said, "I sacrifice Mystical Elf and Spirit of the Harp in this ritual to bring forth the most powerful creature in my deck, the ominous Cosmo Queen [2900/2450] in attack mode. Now Cosmo Queen attack his Rude Kaiser!" Cosmo Queen placed her hands together and uttered a prayer in an unintelligible tongue. The sky itself seemed to respond to the prayer by sending down a great column of white light, the Rare Hunter could only watch as the armor on Rude Kaiser cracked and shattered and incinerated the creature completely taking his Life Points down to 600, and due to the effect of Robbin' Goblin the Rare Hunter discarded on of his cards to the Graveyard. Troy's Life Points fell to 2700; they both stared at each other for a minute, "Your move Hunter…but I've already won this duel by what I have on the field."

The Rare Hunter drew a card and said, "Okay…this is where the rage hits the fan, first I play fissure to be rid of that almighty queen of yours, next I play Monster Reborn to bring back my Rude Kaiser…then and this is the fun part I play De-Spell to rid myself of that troublesome Toll…and then I have Rude Kaiser attack your Life Points directly!"

Troy watched as the giant axe armed creature leapt towards him and swung at him with his right arm, and then leapt back towards the Rare Hunter's Side, now at 900 LP left Troy started to laugh and said, "You know I haven't been this well challenged in a long time…but now seeing it's my turn I'm going to show you the mean side of me, first I draw a card, then I use Monster Reborn to bring back my Cosmo Queen…then I have it destroy your Rude Kaiser again and the rest of your Life Points with it."

With that the duel was over, Troy had won…the Rare Hunter looked in disbelief at Troy. All Troy's friends (save Misha) were chanting, _"GO __TROY__, GO __TROY__, IT'S YA BIRTHDAY, IT'S YA BIRTHDAY!"_

At that moment Hagane asked, _"Misha…is it really __Troy__'s birthday, I don't see any sort of a feast laid out?"_

Misha chuckled, "_No, it's just a victory chant…you have a lot to learn about the year in which I live in_."

_"And I can't wait to learn from you and your friends_._"_ Hagane finished.

Misha looked at Marik and asked, "So what do you think…impressed?"

Marik looked at Troy and the others, "I have to admit, they are impressive…but that was just one of them, how do I know the other four hold as much promise?" he asked. Misha looked at them, "I know they don't look like much…but trust me, when we get to the finals…if they're not there I'll buy you a soda."

Marik looked at Misha and said, "I'll hold you to that."

Marik then handed Misha two envelopes and departed from the group, Misha looked at contents and said, "Okay…Marik's given me the name's of two duelists he wants two of you to face, now how many locator cards do you all have?"

"Six" said Troy, Zach and Brandon W.

"Five" said Erich.

"I only have four…but I'll take any challenge no matter how great the difficulty." said Johnny.

"Alright then Johnny boy…if you feel that up for it I'll give you this one and Erich…this one will be your assignment." Misha said handing both of them their envelopes; Johnny's contained a picture of Yugi Moto…while Erich's had Joey Wheeler's mug shot.

"As for the rest of you, show me where you're all staying…I need to find a place to crash." Misha said to them, Erich and Johnny studied the faces of their targets long and hard…a few seconds later, they set out to find them.


	21. Chapter 20: Wrath of the Witch King, Par...

**Chapter 20: Wrath of the Witch King (Part 1)**

Troy and the others led Misha to a hotel they were all staying at, Misha plunged onto one of the beds and said, "You guys…this is almost too much."

"Then you're going to hit the roof when we give you these." Said Zach as they handed him six locator cards. "Gee thanks guys…but I didn't earn these, I really should consider earning these on my own." Misha said with a bit of guilt in his voice, Brandon W. put his arm on Misha's shoulder, "Hey…just consider this a little gift from your friends, the way I see it either we all go to the finals or not at all."

Misha smiled a bit when he suddenly felt as if part of him had been ripped out, before his eyes he saw an image of Brandon W., he had an insane look on his face…Misha then saw something shimmering on Brandon W's face, it was the Millennium Eye. _"HA-HA-HA-HAA, RIP HIM APART!!!"_ Brandon shrieked.

Misha suddenly snapped back to reality…had he just seen the future, and if so was there anyway to keep it from happening? Troy looked at Misha, "Hey buddy you alright…you look as if you've seen a ghost?" Misha looked at Brandon W., "It was nothing…I'm just tired, that's all." responded Misha.

Zach took a laptop out of his suitcase and said, "Okay…I've found Erich's file on the Battle City web page, now all we have to do is wait for him to find his target."

Brandon W. then asked, "Did Erich go out in that outfit of his again?"

"You mean the scarlet jacket and silver circlet…yeah." replied Troy, Brandon shook his head in disbelief and said, "I tell you that guy is going to get himself sent to the 'nut barn' one of these days."

Meanwhile Erich was searching the streets for Joey Wheeler, he searched for about an hour and a half…until he came to a park, he sat down on a bench and hung his head, "_Geez…and I thought looking for friends at the mall was difficult…but looking for this guy is a lot more difficult, I mean it's not like he's just going to appear right before me_!"

"Joey wait up." Erich heard a voice call; Erich looked in the direction of the voice…he saw three people, one of them looked familiar. Then he looked down at the picture, then at one of the three of them, then back at the picture, then back at the one…and smiled, "_Though I've been looking for him, he just found me…and that was a mistake_!" Erich thought as he got off the bench and tailed them from behind.

He suddenly saw Joey look behind him, Erich quickly took cover. "What's wrong Joey?" one of the others asked, "I don't know, I just feel like I'm being followed." Joey replied. Erich peeked from behind the tree and kept on pursuit, about 10 minutes later they were out of the park and in the business area of Battle City when Joey looked behind himself again…this time Erich had grabbed a newspaper and pretended to read it, "Joey…what is it?" the other person asked this time. Joey pointed to Erich and said, "I swear that guy in the scarlet jacket is following us." When the two tried to tell Joey he was just imagining things they continued on, "_Won't be long now…Mr. Wheeler_." Erich thought to himself.

When they reached the main downtown area Joey looked behind himself again, Erich didn't hide this time…instead he just faintly smiled and watched as Joey and friends started heading towards him. "Hey you…what are you following me around for?" Joey asked, Erich prepared his Duel Disk for battle. Tristen grabbed Joey's shoulder and said, "Come on Joey…you already have your six locator cards, you don't have to prove anything to this guy."

"Are you going to let your friends fight your wars for you Joey Wheeler?" Erich asked with mock sweetness.

"What are you saying?" Joey asked.

"I'm saying this!" Erich shouted, he then started flapping his elbows and clucking like a chicken. "You better not be calling me what I think you're calling me?!" Joey said, starting to get angry. "Then prove it, duel me for one locator card…I already have five, winner gets the right to be in the finals…think about it, if I win I get one of the cards in your deck and the locator card, but if you win you get the rarest card in my deck."

"Okay pal…but you're going to regret taking on Joey Wheeler." Joey said to Erich.

"_On the contrary…you're going to regret taking me on_." Erich thought to himself.

"Okay…I'll go first, I play two cards face down…and summon Alligator Sword [1500/1200] in attack mode, your move you tiara wearin' creep." said Joey.

Erich drew a card and said, "I play three cards face down and play Amazon Archer [1400/1000] in attack mode, oh but I won't stop there…reveal face down card number one, Ultimate Offering…now for a cost of 500 Life Points we can normal summon more than one creature to the field, and I'm going to give up 500 Life Points to summon Amazoness Blowpiper [800/1500] in defense mode, oh-oh but it gets even better…reveal face down card number two, Graceful Charity…I draw three cards, and discard two, and now for my finish…reveal face down card number three, it's Question, and the question is what monster went to my Graveyard first?"

Joey looked puzzled for a few moments and said, "You didn't I watched you this whole time, and you never sent any monster to your Graveyard."

Erich shook his head, "That's where you're wrong…you see when I played Graceful Charity I discarded two cards, one of them was a monster…and since you don't know what it is, as a result of Question I can put it on the field…say hello to Amazoness Paladin [1700/300] in attack mode, now Amazoness Paladin has a special effect…for every 'Amazoness' or 'Amazon Archer' on the field Amazoness Paladin gets a 100 ATK boost, so she's now at 1900…more than enough to rid the field of that meddlesome Alligator of yours…Amazoness Paladin attack Alligator Sword!"

Joey watched as Amazoness Paladin took up her sword and destroyed Alligator Sword with one swipe. Erich laughed and said, "Oh but that's not all…I'll also have Amazon Archer attack…Amazon Archer, attack his Life Points directly!" The Amazon Archer took an arrow from his quiver, loaded it onto his bow, pulled back and fired.

Joey looked at Erich who seemed to be enjoying himself, "You know there's no shame in surrendering now…just say you give up and give me what is mine." Erich said sounding rather bored. "Keep yapping tiara man!" Joey shouted at him, "Okay that's it, this is not a tiara…it's a circlet, a circlet is more masculine than a tiara would ever be!" Erich snapped back.

Joey drew his next card and said, "Okay circlet kid…a place one card face down, and play Swordsman of Landstar [500/1200] in attack mode. But that's not all…reveal face down card Graceful Dice! Now my Swordsman's ATK power will be multiplied by whatever number the dice lands on, Go Graceful Dice!" Both Joey and Erich watched as the dice clacked across the ground, finally coming to rest on four, "OH YEAH…now my swordsman's ATK strength is at 2000, and I'm going to have him attack your Archer." Erich watched as Swordsman of Landstar destroyed his Archer with one swipe of its sword, Erich looked at his Life Points counter. He was down to 2900, but that was better than being Joey with only 2200 Life Points.

"Not so tough now are you?" Joey asked, a smile on his face.

"Keep talking Wheeler…and you'll find out why they call me 'The Witch King'!" Erich yelled.


	22. Chapter 21: Wrath of the Witch King, Par...

**Chapter 21: Wrath of the Witch King (Part 2)**

Joey's LP-2200

Erich's LP-2900

"Come on Wheeler…finish your turn so I can finish this and rob you of the finals." Erich said while tapping his foot. "Okay…next I play the Magic card Fissure, say good bye to your Blowpiper." Erich watched as a chasm swallowed his monster up whole, Erich shrugged and asked, "Easy come easy go…I'm guessing your turn is through?" Joey nodded.

"Okay…first I play the Magic card Pot of Greed, so I draw two cards…next I play Ookazi, say good bye to 800 of your Life Points…then next I play the Trap card Coffin Seller, it may not sound like much…but it'll be truly lethal once I play the Magic card Stop Attack, now my Paladin attack the Swordsman."

Joey watched as Erich attacked his Swordsman, he looked at his Life Points and looked rather confused, "What…I'm down to 1100; I don't understand…you only used Ookazi and that only takes 800 Life Points."

Erich rolled his eyes and said, "Lordy…do I have to explain the effect of Coffin Seller to you, well you see…every time I destroy one of your monsters, whether in attack or defense mode, Coffin Seller will lop off an extra 300 Life Points…man-oh-man to believe you were runner up in Duelist Kingdom is a real joke! Your move I guess."

Joey drew a card and said, "Okay…I place one more card face down, and summon Masaki the Legendary Swordsman [1100/1100] in attack mode and end my turn."

Erich rolled his eyes again and said, "Are you _that _dense…my Paladin will cut Masaki in half, but if you have to persist in calling on weak monsters I'll place one card face down and have Amazoness Paladin attack your pathetic monster." Erich watched as Amazoness Paladin made a great leap of Masaki, "Not so fast Erich…reveal face down card Waboku, this decreases your attack down to 0 meaning Masaki still stands."

"Big deal, within a turn or two I'll come down on you full force!" Erich told him.

"Okay…and seeing it's my turn again, I draw a card…" Joey looked at it and started snickering, "and I'll sacrifice Masaki the Legendary Swordsman…to bring out Jinzo [2400/1500] in attack mode, and with his effect I can get rid of your Ultimate Offering and Coffin Seller cards." Erich watched as both his Trap Cards were vaporized from the field, Erich put them both in his Graveyard and with a yawn said, "Such is life."

Erich drew a card and smiled a smile that told Joey he was in for it, "I'm not surprised you lasted this long Wheeler…but now this has to end, reveal face down card Soul Exchange, now I'll sacrifice your Jinzo…and my Amazoness Paladin, to bring out the monster that'll put the final nail in your dreams coffin…say hello to Kazejin [2400/2000] in attack mode!" Wheeler watched as a wooden box with the symbol for WIND appeared on Erich's side of the field, he knew this monster all too well…Erich had been right, it was over. "Now Kazejin…attack Wheeler's Life Points directly!" Erich called out, the wooden box popped open…letting loose a giant tornado, the twister quickly dashed from the box and attack Joey directly…the duel was over, with 2900 Life Points left Erich had won.

Erich picked up Joey's deck and scanned through the cards, finally stopping on one card, "A Blue-Winged Crown…well out of all the monsters in your deck, I'd never expect you to have this…so I'll be taking it along with one of your locator cards as my prize."

Erich looked at Joey for a few seconds then asked, "Hey…don't be so down on yourself, I mean it's not like you're dueling for someone are you?"

"Actually I am…I'm dueling for my little sister." Joey answered; Erich sat on the ground and asked, "Well do you have a picture?"

Joey showed Erich the locket with the picture inside, Erich gave a low whistle, "Guessing you did something real cruddy to end up here." said Erich. Joey nodded, "The night before her operation I had promised her I'd be there to stay the night…but I got caught up in a duel that lost me my Red-Eyes Black Dragon…I didn't show up at the hospital until the next morning, I didn't mean to do that to her…but now I'm dueling to show that I still care about her."

Erich let out another low whistle and said, "Well…I normally wouldn't do this, but here…take my Question card as a gift, who knows…it may come in handy for you someday."

Erich then got up off the ground and walked off whistling a little tune to himself, when he was out of Wheeler's view of range he took out his cell phone and called Misha…it took ten seconds but Misha picked up, "Hello Erich." Misha responded. Erich could hear Troy and Zach celebrating in the background; Erich cleared his throat and said, "Misha, I found out some interesting information on Joey Wheeler."

"Oh really…well out with it." Misha said in a sly tone of voice.

"It appears Joey has a little sister who's in the hospital right now." Erich told him, "Hmm…" went Misha, sounding as if in deep thought. "I'll go to the hospital and see her myself, oh…and excellent execution on the duel, you didn't do as well as I'd have hoped…but you gave him what he had coming, come back to base…and we'll wait for Johnny's duel." With that they turned their cell phones off, Erich returned to the hotel.

Misha on the other hand went to the hospital to visit Wheeler's sister, he asked the nurse at the desk if there was anyone here by the name of 'Wheeler', the nurse said there was a girl named Serenity who also went by that last name…she gave him the room number and Misha went along his way. When he reached the room he opened the door, and there she was. "Who's there…Tristen is that you?" she asked, Misha then saw the bandages around her eyes and said, "I'm sorry but I'm not Tristen in any way, shape, or form…but I know your brother." Misha pulled up a chair and took a seat.

"So you know Joey…that's good, are you a friend of his?" Serenity asked.

"I'm sort of a friend of his…in a way, but it'd probably not be a good idea that we'd see each other." Misha answered, he then heard voices down the hall…he peeked out the door and saw a security guard heading down the hall. On the way to the hotel Brandon W. had told Misha that Kaiba had put a price on his head, he had to hide in another room. Misha quickly put the chair back in place, "Leaving so soon?" Serenity asked. "For right now, yes…but if your brother or one of his friends stops by can you tell them Misha stopped by for a visit?" Misha asked back, Serenity nodded.

Misha searched around until he sensed some sort of magic presence behind the door to his right, he quickly opened the door and stepped through, inside he saw a person on a bed…he was really bandaged up and looked to be resting, Misha looked at him and said, "Okay, let's see who I'm trapped with…Kyle McCraine….motorcycle accident, interesting…but I don't see why my Bracelet would guide me too (gasp)." Misha then saw the Millennium Item hanging on Kyle's neck…he held it for a few seconds. _"The Millennium Shield…I thought it had been destroyed?"_ said Hagane, "Can we help him?" asked Misha. Hagane said, _"Yes…we can heal his injuries a bit so that he stands a bit of a better chance…but after that we must find a way to escape_._"_

Misha put his hand on Kyle's chest, a crimson auora formed on Misha's hand…he watched as color slowly came back to Kyle's face, he suddenly had that same feeling he had back at the hotel. _"I know now why I was given this item,"_ said Kyle, taking off the Millennium Shield. _"I was to give it to you_._"_

Misha snapped back to reality, he then opened the window and jumped out of it…and when he hit the ground he just casually walked away softly singing, _"I know I won't be leaving here, oh I know I won't be leaving here, oh I know I won't be leaving here, oh I know I won't be leaving here…with you_._"_


	23. Chapter 22: Oh Johnny Boy, the Duel Toll...

_Okay I don't get it…I've been trying, and trying, and trying my rear off here for the last few weeks…and I just want to know, what the HELL am I doing wrong! I mean I've been updating this fanfic like fucking mad and I still only have that one lousy review from the first damn chapter! heavy sigh Makes me wonder why I even try._

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**Chapter 22: Johnny Boy, the Duel Tolls for Thee**

Johnny was on the trail of Yugi Moto…he knew battle the winner of the Duelist Kingdom tournament would be tough, but he had told Misha he was up for any challenge. Plus how hard would it be to find him, with a haircut like that he'd stick out like a sore thumb. He called Misha on his cell phone, when he heard Misha's voice he said, "Misha…I've searched about a good quarter of Battle City, and I still can't find the guy."

"Well search Downtown, Midtown and Uptown, search in the parks…if fact I don't care what rules you have to break, turn the city upside-down if you have to. I'm going back to the hotel…oh, and don't let me down Johnny." Misha told him.

Johnny turned his cell phone off, "_Trust me Misha…failure can't even touch __Me_." he thought to himself, he then continued to search for his target.

Back at the hotel Troy said, "Hey Misha…we found Johnny's file, now all we have to do is wait for him to find that opponent of his."

Brandon W. then walked up to Misha and in a whisper asked, "Misha…I was wondering, when are we going to get rid of Johnny?"

Misha answered that question with, "How long did it take the milk in the fridge to expire?"

"Are you talking about the 2% or the Skim milk?" Brandon W. asked. "Does it make a difference!?" Misha whispered rather angrily.

"Well the Skim was only a week away from its expiration date, but we didn't really know what the expiration date on the 2% was….unless we're talking about the 1.5% which we got into the fridge just in the nick-of-time." Brandon drawled on saying, Misha finally having enough said, "Soon…okay, we get rid of him soon…if he loses, we'll give him the boot."

"And if he wins?" Brandon W. asked.

"Who said he'd win? With whom I set him up against victory may not even be an option." Misha replied.

Meanwhile Johnny was still on the hunt, he finally found Yugi while walking down the street. "_And now to close in on the target._" Johnny thought to himself.

"_I can't believe how difficult my last couple of duels have been…but why do I get the feeling that the worst is yet to come_?" Yugi thought to himself, _"Because now that you have Slifer…you're now a greater threat to Marik than ever, but I sense something as well…a chill in the air I haven't felt since __Duelist__Kingdom_._"_ Said the ghostly form of Yami (That's the name of the spirit in the Millennium Puzzle in case you didn't know). "You think there's more than one evil at work against me here?" Yugi asked, Yami shrugged: _"It's possible…in fact the chill in the air is the same one I felt when we faced Misha, chances are he's here in __Battle__City_ _too_._"_

"Hey you!" Johnny called out, Yugi turned around and gestured if Johnny was talking to him, "Yeah, you…how about a duel, betting our rarest card and two locator cards." Johnny suggested. "Okay…I don't see why not." Yugi responded.

They shuffled their decks, activated their duel disks and were on their way, "IT'S TIME TO DUEL!" they both shouted.

Johnny looked at his first five cards, drew one, "_Not a bad opening hand…this just might be the quickest duel I've ever been in, Misha's going to reward me when I bring him this guys' rarest card…and most of all, I'll finally get the respect I deserve!_" he thought to himself, "I place these two cards face down, and play this monster face down defense mode, your move pal."

Yugi drew a card and said, "I place one card face down on the field, and Summon Celtic Guardian [1400/1200] in attack mode."

Johnny did a sort of sarcastic applause and said, "Bravo…but it still won't measure up to the DEF points of my face down monster, but I'm just warning you of course." Johnny drew another card and said, "Geez…by the end of this duel, I'll be in the finals and you'll be farther from it than before, I play another monster face down defense mode and end my turn, your move."

"_What is this kids' strategy…so far all he's done is play monsters face down, he must want me to attack_." Yugi thought to himself. He drew a card and said, "I play another card face down, and sacrifice my Celtic Guardian to bring out Summoned Skull [2500/1200] and I'll have him attack the face down card on your right."

Johnny watched as Summoned Skull sent a tremendous burst of lightening at the face down card, suddenly a rather goofy looking alligator bearing an axe appeared and blew apart from the blast. "My Toon Alligator……well that was expected, but since it was in defense mode my Life Points go untouched, and seeing as it is my turn again…I draw one card, and I think I'll flip my face down monster face up, say hello to the Bite Shoes [500/300]…and due to there effect your Summoned Skull goes into Defense Mode, oh but that's not all…I sacrifice Bite Shoes, so that I can summon Kiryu [2000/1500] in attack mode and attack your Summoned Skull." The dragon blew from its mouth a whirlwind of twigs and dust, and turned Summoned Skull into a pin cushion just before it broke apart, "Guess Summoned Skull was a Summoned Dud, huh." Johnny quipped, "Oh and it gets better…reveal face down card, Card Destruction…this means our present hands go to the Graveyard, but we get to draw a whole new hand." Johnny drew his new hand, Yugi did the same.

_"Yugi…something's telling me that this is no ordinary duelist, he's obviously honed his skills to make it this far_._"_ Yami warned.

"Yeah…but who could've taught him this well?" Yugi asked himself.

"I bet you're trying to figure out who taught me to duel like this, well truth is a taught myself…but I'm not alone here, there are four other duelists just like me…some are just as challenging as I am, a couple are actually tougher…together we make Misha's Elite Five!" Johnny explained.

Right there Yugi understood, Misha was in Battle City…the question was where. Yugi then figured that this duel would be too big for him to handle himself, just then the Millennium Puzzle let out a great flash of light and Yami took Yugi's place. "So you are a friend of Misha's? Well then I shall duel you to my best ability!" Yami said to Johnny, Johnny smirked and said: "Best my not be good enough, as you can see I have a monster on the field…oh but my turns not over, at least not yet…Reveal face down card, Dragon Treasure…this equip card increases Kiryu's power from a weak [2000/1500] to a much stronger [2300/1800]…your move."

Yugi/Yami drew a card and said, "I don't know what Misha has you believing…but maybe I can still help you see. I play another card face down, and summon a monster face down defense mode…your move Johnny."

Johnny drew a card and said, "You know you can't keep playing the defense position forever…and it's only going to be a matter of time before I draw my most powerful monster…but until then, I play Cobraman Sakuzy [800/1400] in defense mode, your move loser."

Yugi/Yami drew another card and said, "I play this card face down and sacrifice my face down monster to summon Curse of Dragon [2000/1500] in attack mode, and I'll have him attack your Cobraman Sakuzy."

Johnny said, "Okay…and since it's my turn yet again I draw a card, and in fact I'll play this one face down on the field and end my turn…seeing as you don't have anything on the field that can beat my Kiryu yet."

Yugi/Yami drew a card and looked on the field, "_He hasn't played any of his face down cards yet…but I have a feeling he's just waiting for me to attack so he can use them_." He thought to himself, "I summon one monster face down defense mode and end my turn."

Johnny laughed and said, "Have you learned nothing…you won't defeat me that way, I summon Mad Sword Beast [1400/1200] in attack mode…and I'll have him attack your defense monster."

Yugi/Yami then flipped the card face up; it was Mystical Elf [600/2000]. Johnny watched as his monsters' attack bounced off Mystical Elf and as his Life Points went from 4000 to 3400. "I was too careless…but now that I know what that is, I'll send my Kiryu to finish it off." Johnny said, Kiryu attacked Mystical Elf the same way it had attacked Summoned Skull. Johnny laughed and said, "Man this is too easy…I mean don't get me wrong, but right now it doesn't seem like you're even trying…your move."

Yugi/Yami drew a card and said, "I summon Feral Imp [1300/1400] in attack mode…and I equip it with the Horn of the Unicorn to raise its ATK strength to 2000, and have it attack your Mad Sword Beast."

Johnny watched his Life Points went from 3400 to 2800, He drew a card and growled, "I did not want to do this to you paly…but you left me with no choice, reveal face down card Cost Down, now this card allows me to decrease the level of any monster in my hand by two…which makes this level 7 in my hand a level 5, meaning instead of me having to sacrifice two creatures I'll only have to sacrifice one, and I'll sacrifice Kiryu…who has already done a bang up job, to bring out Mystical Knight of Jackal [2700/1200] in attack mode. Now my knight…attack Feral Imp!"

The knight ran forward and ran Feral Imp through with the blades it had clasped in its hands; Yugi's Life Points fell from 4000 to 3300. Both Yugi and Yami looked at the creature that stood before them, "_Okay…now how am I supposed to beat that?!_" Yugi asked Yami. "_We'll just have to try our best_." Yami answered.

Johnny laughed and said, "Your move…little it'll do you though, because next turn your freak of a dragon is next on my hit list."

Yugi/Yami drew a card and said, "I summon Silver Fang [1200/800] in defense mode…but my turn doesn't stop there, reveal face down card Swords of Revealing Light. Now your Mystical Knight cannot attack for another 3 turns, your move Johnny."

Johnny drew a card and said, "Well since I can't attack I'll place one card face down and end my turn, so it's your move again."

Yugi/Yami drew another card and said, "I sacrifice my Curse of Dragon and Silver Fang so that I can summon Dark Magician [2500/2100] in attack mode, your move Johnny."

Johnny then started to laugh and said, "You know you should've attacked me when you had the chance Yugi Moto……that's right I know your name now, it didn't hit me at first, but when you summoned Dark Magician it came all together for me, but the reason you should've attacked me is because of this. Reveal face down card De-Spell, which undoes the effect of your pathetic Swords and leaves my Mystical Knight ready to attack again. But I'll wait this turn so it's your move again."

Yugi/Yami drew another card and said, "It's time to end this, reveal face down card…Book of Secret Arts, this boosts my Dark Magician's ATK strength to 2800, more than enough to destroy your Mystical Knight of Jackal."

Johnny then said, "Not so fast Yugi, reveal face down card Magic Drain."

"Oh no!" Yugi/Yami blurted out.

Johnny laughed, "Oh YES…due to the effect of this Trap Card you must either discard a Magic Card from your hand or Book of Secret Arts is destroyed, oh but let me guess you don't have a magic card in your hand. Ah well, bye-bye Secret Arts…it was nice knowing you." Just then a vampire-like creature popped up behind Book of Secret Arts and dragged it down into a chasm with him. "Now your Dark Magician is back down to 2500 attack points…which isn't enough to destroy Mystical Knight now, face it you're up the creek without a paddle."

Johnny then drew a card and said, "This was too easy, I'll play one card face down on the field…then I'll have Mystical Knight of Jackal waste your Dark Magician." Johnny's monster ran forward again to attack.

"Not so fast Johnny!" Shouted Yugi/Yami, "Reveal face down card…Mirror Force, now your Mystical Knight's attack is rebounded right back at it." Johnny watched as his monster's blades hit an invisible barrier and rebounded back at it, destroying it almost instantly. Johnny snapped his fingers and said, "Oh I wouldn't have done that so suddenly, I play this Magic card…Monster Reborn, and bring back my Mystical Knight of Jackal." Johnny smiled and thought to himself, "_And in case he destroys my Mystical Knight of Jackal again I have three Magician of Faith cards in my deck that'll insure that I can bring it back_." He then looked at Yugi's face and said, "Your move ol' chum."

"_I know the odds are stacked against me, but I have to win…but against a duelist like Johnny how can I win_?" Yugi thought to himself.

"_Johnny can be defeated…and that monster is the only way to do It._" answered a mysterious voice inside Yugi's head.

"_Who are you?_" Yugi asked the voice.

"_Introductions will have to wait for another time Yugi…or should I say Yami_." The voice responded.

"_How do you know the name of the Spirit of the Puzzle_?" Yugi asked.

"_That along with who I am will have to wait for another time…right now what you need to know is that if you are to beat Johnny, destroying that monster he has right now is the only way to do it._" The voice answered.

"_Okay, so tell me how to._" Yugi said to the voice.

"_What you need to know about Johnny's deck is that it is completely designed around that monster he has on the field…in fact he designed it so he could bring out that monster and keep it on the field as long as he could, he has not only Monster Reborn…but three Magician of Faith cards to bring Monster Reborn back, just keep him from using Magician of Faith and you'll be in the clear_." The voice explained, and with that it was gone.

"So are you going to make a move or pass this turn?" Johnny asked, tapping his foot.

Yugi/Yami smiled a bit and said, "I realize your strategy now Johnny…your deck is designed to keep Mystical Knight of Jackal on the field as long as possible, you rely on that monster more than any other in your deck."

Johnny back off a bit in shock, then regained his game face and said, "Yeah, so what…don't tell me you haven't done that before, put one monster of yours before the others, and even if you can find a way to defeat me…it's a little too late for that."

Yugi/Yami drew a card and said, "Okay then I'll place this face down on the field and summon a monster in defense mode…oh but I'll play the card I just put on the field, behold the magic card Ancient Telescope…now reveal the next five cards on the top of your deck to me."

Johnny took them out without looking at them and showed them to Yugi/Yami, good thing to…because Johnny's next draw would be Magician of Faith, Johnny put them back on top of his deck and said, "Not like it'll help you anyway…because I have a good feeling about my next draw." Yugi/Yami gave an honest smile and said, "I wouldn't doubt it."

Johnny drew a card and started laughing, "You're in for it now!"

Yugi/Yami shook his head and said, "No…I believe it is you who's in trouble, reveal face down card…Exchange, we must now exchange one card from each other's hands…I believe I'll be taking that card you just drew." Johnny growled a bit, and then took Fissure from Yugi's hand.

Very well…I'll still have Mystical Knight attack your Dark Magician, but that's not all…I think I'll use Mystical Knight of Jackal's special ability and send Dark Magician not to the Graveyard, but to the top of your deck…so now not only do you lose 200 Life Points, but now you have to sacrifice two monsters again to bring Dark Magician back out to play.

Yugi's LP-3100

Johnny's LP-2800

"Things aren't looking so up for you are they Yugi? Well you won't have to worry for long." Johnny said with mock sweetness, Yugi drew a card and said, "I play two cards face down on the field and put this monster face down defense mode, and activate one of my face down cards…now behold Monster Reborn, which I will use to bring back Curse of Dragon, but that's not all I'll flip my defense monster face up…it's your Magician of Faith [300/400], I now return Monster Reborn to my hand, and to finish it off I activate my other face down card…behold the Trap card Horn of Heaven, and I'll sacrifice Magician of Faith to destroy your Mystical Knight of Jackal."

Johnny watched as his Jackal was destroyed, when the smoke cleared Yugi/Yami could see Johnny's face…he looked FURIOUS! "You…you…you just did it, you crossed the line…I didn't want to go to the extremes, but you forced me to it…now you're going to get the full fury of my deck!" Johnny drew a card and said, "I play two cards face down, and Summon Masked Sorcerer [900/1400] in attack mode…oh, but that's not all…I also play the Magic card Yami, this card gives my Masked Sorcerer a ATK and DEF of 200 points, so now he's [1100/1600]. But it doesn't stop there…I also activate my other face down card Shield and Sword, which now makes my Sorcerer stronger than your Dragon. Now my Masked Sorcerer attack Curse of Dragon!"

The Sorcerer held a gold pendant in front of his face and started chanting to it, about a few seconds later a black fireball flew from the pendant and hit Curse of Dragon. "And due to Masked Sorcerer's effect I draw another card, and I also play the Magic card Stop Attack to put my Masked Sorcerer into Defense mode…your move."

Yugi/Yami drew another card and said, "I may not have much left to play with…but you won't win, that's all I can say, I summon Ancient Elf [1450/1200] in attack mode to the field, and since Yami is still in play…it increases him to [1650/1400], enough to destroy your Masked Sorcerer." The Ancient Elf then shot a beam of white light at Masked Sorcerer; the beam went straight through him. Johnny saw the mask crack just before he was destroyed, "Your move Johnny."

Johnny drew a card and said, "I'll play this monster face down defense mode and end my turn."

Yugi/Yami drew another card, "I will place this card face down…and have Ancient Elf attack your face down monster."

Johnny then shook his head and said, "You fell for it…you attacked Big Eye [1200/1000] and due to his effect I get to see the next 5 cards of my deck and arrange them any way I like." He drew up the five cards…smiling rather devilishly at the last two, he turned around and when he was done put them back on top and said, "Okay…your move I guess."

Yugi/Yami drew another card and said, "Okay…I guess I'll play Mega Thunderball [750/600] in defense mode, and that'll end my turn."

Johnny drew another card and said, "Then I'll play this monster card face down in defense mode, and place one more card face down and end my turn."

Yugi/Yami drew a card again and said, "Now I'll sacrifice Ancient Elf and Mega Thunderball, so that I may summon Dark Magician to the field once more…and I'll have him attack your face down defense monster."

Johnny flipped it face up and said, "Sorry…but you just attacked my 2nd Magician of Faith…meaning I can now bring back one magic card from the Graveyard, in fact I think I'll play it now, Monster Reborn…and I use it to bring back Mystical Knight of Jackal [2700/1200]!"

Yugi/Yami drew another card and said, "I play two cards face down on the field, and play Magical Hats…now try and attack my Dark Magician."

Johnny looked at the five hats that stood before him, he knew two of them were empty, two of them were probably traps, and one contained the Dark Magician. "Okay…Mystical Knight, attack the middle hat!" Johnny ordered.

After the hat was destroyed Johnny's monster became bound within a circle of light, "What the—what the heck is that?" Johnny said rather ticked off.

"Looks like you fell into my Trap card Spellbinding Circle; now your monster cannot move, but that's not all…it is also 600 ATK points weaker."

Suddenly the Dark Magician appeared from the hat at the far right, "Now my Dark Magician…attack his Mystical Knight of Jackal!"

Johnny looked at the 2400 Life Points he had left and drew a card from his deck, "Okay…this tears it, I play the Magic card Swords of Revealing Light, now your stupid Magician or any other monster you play cannot attack!"

"Very well, then I play Spear Cretin and use its effect to bring back my Curse of Dragon and end my turn." Yugi/Yami said, he then drew a card.

"Well since you can't attack I'll draw a card and pass this turn…your move." said Johnny.

Yugi/Yami drew another card and said, "For my next move I'll play Kuriboh [300/200] in defense mode and end my turn."

Johnny drew another card and said, "Well then I'll just lay this monster face down defense mode and end my turn…next turn you'll be free, but I'll end your pathetic strategy before that."

Yugi/Yami drew one more card and said, "Well then I'll pass this turn too…your move Johnny."

Johnny drew one more card and said, "Heh, heh, hee…I should've known you had nothing left, now I play Marauding Captain [1200/400] in attack mode, but I also reveal my face down monster…it's my third Magician of Faith, and now I can Monster Reborn my Mystical Knight of Jackal to the field again, didn't make much of these three turns did you?"

Yugi/Yami drew one final card and said, "Actually Johnny…I made more than enough of this turn, I now sacrifice my three creatures to bring out SLIFER THE SKY DRAGON!"

Suddenly the sky became dark, Johnny watched as a huge red, worm-like dragon appeared above him and Yugi…Johnny's throat emitted a sort of gurgling noise; he was too terrified to move.

"Slifer's ATK and DEF depend on how many cards I have in my hand, and since I have five cards in my hand…he has 5000 ATK points, and now, Slifer attack his Mystical Knight of Jackal!"

Johnny could only watch as Slifer released a blast of lightening from his mouth and destroyed his monster along with all his Life Points. Johnny then collapsed to all fours, "Johnny…this duel is over, and you've lost." Yugi/Yami said to him.

"No…no…no, n-n-n-no…it wasn't supposed to end like this…Misha's going to hit the roof." Johnny said in a whiny sort of tone.

Yugi stood over Johnny and asked, "What do you mean? Misha's a forgiving person the last time I checked?"

Johnny looked at Yugi and yelled, "It's not him I'm afraid of…it's that fellow he came here with, oh what's his name……Marik, yeah that's right…it was Marik."

Yugi then gave a rather shocked look at the information he just received, Johnny continued: "But you don't understand…if I come to Misha with only two Locater Cards he and the others will give me the boot."

"Johnny Lachapelle." Said a gruff voice from behind them, they both looked and saw a man in a black trench coat. Johnny crawled over to him and said, "Yes."

"You have failed Misha, Johnny…this is your third defeat, and you know what was coming if you should fail." The man told him.

"No…please no, don't do it…I can't do better!" Johnny begged, but the man took Johnny's arm and took off a bracelet that had been on it…the man broke it in pieces and said, "From this day onward you are exiled from the Elite Five—oops, I mean the Elite Four."

The man suddenly went into a trance and then walked away.

Johnny looked at the pieces of the bracelet; Yugi walked over to him and said, "I'm deeply sorry…if I had known what was at stake for you—." But Johnny cut him off and said, "I didn't know what was going to happen either…but thanks, here's my locater cards and Mystical Knight of Jackal…they're yours now."

Meanwhile the man in the black trench coat peeked at them, it was Misha…he still couldn't understand why he had had that vision of Kaiba Corp. goons busting into the hotel room. But the visions were obviously some sort of warning…but of what nature.


End file.
